Karnataka landslide: Kerala native Arjun's truck found

Karnataka landslide: Kerala native Arjun's truck has been found after an extensive search in the Gangavali River in Shirur today. The truck submerged in the Gangavali River has been located using a boom excavator, following radar and sonar signals. 

Ankola: After a 9-day extensive search, the truck of Arjun, a native of Kerala's Kozhikode who went missing in a massive landslide in Shirur, Karnataka was found today, as confirmed to Asianet News by the district police chief. His truck was found in the Gangavali River. The search employed advanced tools, including a deep search detector.  Meanwhile, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda confirmed that the lorry was located at the river's bottom.

Rescue operations are currently underway to retrieve the truck that has fallen into the river. A team of naval experts has been sent to the location, with 18 personnel arriving on the scene in three boats. This marks the largest group to attempt the rescue effort so far.

The army has announced that the search operation will continue into the night. A sonar signal was detected yesterday in the same area where a radar signal was previously picked up from the Gangavali river, leading to the discovery of the truck. A boom excavator, capable of searching up to 60 feet in depth and length, was utilized to locate the truck in the river. However, the strong undercurrent in the Gangavali river posed a significant challenge to the search efforts.

A multi-agency rescue operation, involving the Army, Navy, NDRF, Fire Rescue, and Police, is underway to retrieve the submerged truck (Arjun's lorry) from the Gangavali river. Personnel from Kerala's Police, Motor Vehicle Department, and Fire Rescue are also contributing to the effort. However, heavy rainfall is posing a significant challenge to the operation, which has finally located the truck after overcoming adverse weather conditions.

Arjun (30) from Kannadikkal, Kozhikode, had stopped on the Panvel-Kanyakumari National Highway near the Karnataka-Goa border on the morning of July 16, when the disaster struck. The GPS signal from his lorry was last detected at the site where a landslide claimed the lives of 10 people, including a tea shop owner.