BENGALURU: The search for Malayali lorry driver Arjun, trapped in the landslide in Shirur, resumed on Saturday morning. The district collector informed that the search was stopped at 9 pm on Friday due to unfavourable weather.
The officials have requested radar service from Mangaluru to search with precision. The radar will be able to locate objects even deeply buried in the earth's surface. If the location of the lorry can be found through this radar, the soil will be excavated in that direction. Navy, NDRF, SDRF, police and fire brigade teams are continuing the rescue mission. The MVI team from Kerala also reached the accident site.
The radar will also search the nearby river. KC Venugopal MP while responding to the media raised hope of getting ‘good news’ by Saturday noon. Arjun’s relatives and friend who reached Karnataka by July 17, alleged the police of not filing a case despite many requests. Arjun's family also dismissed the statement of the Uttara Kannada district police chief saying the family were late in contacting the police. On the day of the incident, the police were called and informed. The next day (Wednesday) the relatives came to the Ankola police station twice and complained.
The family accused the police of delaying the case and said they had filed another complaint in Chevayur station. The family is eagerly waiting for Arjun at home in Kozhikode. Arjun's brother-in-law Jitin had requested the Army's help with the rescue operation.
Apart from Navy divers, a 100-member NDRF team is carrying out the rescue operation by removing the soil. The landslide occurred on July 16 morning.
After examining the lorry's GPS location, it was discovered that it had been trapped under soil for the previous four days. However, Arjun's phone, which was switched off for the last few days, was turned on for a brief period on Thursday.