Shirur: After a day-long operation, the search efforts of the diving team led by Eshwar Malpe to find three people, including Arjun, a truck driver from Kozhikode, who went missing in a massive landslide in Ankola, were called off on Saturday. The rescue efforts will resume at 9 am on Sunday, Karnataka government officials said.

The landslide occurred on National Highway 66 at Shirur around 8.35 am on July 16, when Arjun was heading to Kerala from Karnataka with a truck loaded with timber.

“We are confident of the efforts of Eshwar Malpe and his team. He is doing his best. Along with him, the NDRF, SDRF, Navy and Army are working together in the rescue operation. The Navy is providing all assistance to Malpe,” the Karwar lawmaker said. “We have identified four potential locations where Arjun’s truck could be stuck in the mudhole under the Gangavali river. The rescuers are inspecting each location one by one. We are trying our best, but due to strong undercurrents, we are not able to pinpoint an exact location yet,” he added.

“The water is full of mud and there are also submerged trees. If a rescue team member sinks, he can easily get trapped, making the rescue extremely difficult. It looks very complicated. If there are rocks on top of the vehicle (truck) or on top of the trapped person, things will get even more complicated. We have been fighting for 12 days and have explored all possibilities. The upper part of the river is a ghat and if it rains heavily there, the river flow will increase significantly,” the MP said.

Meanwhile, a team of senior Navy officials, led by Rear Admiral RM Ramakrishnan, reached Shirur on Saturday evening to assess the rescue operations.

Malpe and his team in search efforts
A team of eight divers, led by local underwater search expert Malpe, joined the rescue operation in the Gangavali river on Saturday. During the initial search, the rope tied to Malpe broke, but his fellow rescuers managed to pull him to safety.
Known for his diving skills, Malpe has rescued many people in distress and recovered hundreds of bodies of water in difficult conditions.

Rescuers have not yet located the truck’s cabin.
Despite the efforts of the Navy diving team over the past three days, strong currents in the river, reaching speeds of over 7 knots, have prevented divers from entering the water. Visibility on the river bed also remains zero, preventing divers from locating the cabin of Arjun’s truck.
The truck is located about 132 meters from the shore, buried in the sand in the center of the river.

Rescue teams are also facing adverse weather conditions, including warnings of possible landslides in the future and heavy rains, which are further hampering rescue operations. Currently, there is no evidence of human presence inside the truck and experts suggest that Arjun could have been outside the vehicle when the landslide occurred.

Floating platform
To enhance the search efforts, the Uttara Kannada district administration had reportedly suggested setting up a floating platform on the Gangavali river. However, district collector Lakshmi Priya cancelled the plan, citing non-availability of the platform in the state and technical challenges in transporting it from Goa. This decision prompted Kerala Minister for Public Works and Tourism PA Mohammad Riyas to express his disapproval of the development and demand that the platform be “brought to the spot” during a high-level meeting.
However, officials have took steps to send tugboats to the scene.