The search for Arjun, a lorry driver from Kerala, has entered its seventh day, with scuba divers now exploring the Gangavali River, focusing on areas with dunes. The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), and Army are preparing for an extensive search operation, suspecting that Arjun’s lorry may have plunged into the river. The strong current and 40-foot depth of the river, along with ongoing heavy rains, present significant challenges for the search teams.
Authorities are also considering the possibility that Arjun’s lorry might be buried underground. To investigate this, an advanced metal detector capable of detecting objects up to 12 meters beneath the surface will be deployed. The search team plans to scan the area thoroughly and excavate the soil, aiming to clear the site by noon. This intensive search effort follows a landslide that occurred on July 16, when Arjun, from Kannadikkal, Kozhikode, was caught in the slide while his lorry was parked near a tea shop in Ankola along the Panvel-Kochi national highway.
During a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Kozhikode MP M K Raghavan urged for additional resources to be deployed in the search efforts. The last GPS signal from Arjun’s lorry was recorded at the landslide location, where 10 people, including a tea shop owner, lost their lives. Raghavan emphasized the need for intensified search efforts by the NDRF, Army, and Navy to locate Arjun and others missing in the landslide.