Arjun yet to be found; strong undercurrents in Gangavali hamper rescue mission in Shirur

ANGOLA: The search for Arjun, who went missing after a landslide in Shirur, continues on the eighth day. The search was intensified in the Gangavali river but was thwarted by strong currents. Navy and Army divers could not probe the depths of the river. The army came up from the river in the afternoon.

After searching the remaining dune on the shore in the morning, the team descended into the river. Today, modern equipment combining radio frequency and AI will search the bottom of the river. Army scuba divers will arrive for this. The Center has given security clearance for this. Retd Major General M Indrabalan and his team will arrive this morning.

Yesterday, Navy scuba divers probed the area where the radar signal was detected 40 meters from the river bank using naval equipment. Arjun's relatives including his brother Jithin and media workers were initially denied entry to the place. Later only Jithin was let through. Kerala MLAs A K M Ashraf, Sachin Dev and Linto Joseph remain in Shirur. Karwar MLA Satish Sale is also there. The overflowing river and frequent rains make the mission challenging. The body of a woman named Hanumanthappa, whose house was washed away in a landslide earlier, was found yesterday. Three people including Arjun are to be found.

Arjun's family responded that they are satisfied with the current search and that it should continue until it is found. Advocate KR Subhash Chandran, who had filed a petition to speed up the search, approached the Karnataka High Court as directed by the Supreme Court. The Bengaluru bench heard the petition yesterday afternoon. The Karnataka government has submitted a status report as requested by the High Court.