No trace of Arjun's lorry beneath mud, says Karnataka Minister

Ankola: Six days after lorry driver Arjun from Kozhikode district went missing when his vehicle was caught in a massive landslide in a village in Karnataka, the Karnataka Revenue Minister stated that there is no trace of the lorry beneath the mud on the road here.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said, "The (landslide) area is being examined to make sure that there is no truck beneath the mud. Perhaps in the next 2-3 hours, we can give a conclusive answer. But from our experience, it appears that there is no truck above the road." 

"Here, the search and rescue process is going on with the help of NDRF, SDRF, local fire and rescue services, local administration, the navy, and the army. Despite the harsh conditions here, rescue operations are going on. We have cleared the road portion. There is no trace of a truck or any person above the road. We sought the help of the army and navy to ascertain whether the vehicle had fallen into the water," the minister told Mathrubhumi News. 

Meanwhile, a 40-member Army team reached the disaster site from Belagavi and commenced rescue operations. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also visited the accident site on Sunday afternoon. 

According to Arjun's family, his lorry is suspected to be trapped under the debris, and his phone rang twice, but there was no response. The global positioning system-installed vehicle was tracked to the area where parts of the hill collapsed. The family also urged the Army's assistance to expedite the rescue process after initial attempts to remove the mud proved futile.

A team of Karnataka SDRF, Kerala Motor Vehicle Department officials, Kerala Police, Arjun's relative Jithin, and others have gone to the accident spot to search. There were indications that the location of the lorry in which Arjun was believed to be trapped was on the radar, but the authorities have not confirmed this yet. The team is continuing the search by removing the soil from the place where the signal was received.