Ankola: The lorry belonging to Arjun, a native of Kannadikkal in Kozhikode, who went missing in a landslide in Shirur, Karnataka, has been found in the Gangavali River. A dead body was also discovered in the lorry's cabin, though its identity has not yet been confirmed. 

The identity of the body found in the lorry cabin will be officially confirmed only after a scientific examination. It will be after procedures, including a forensic examination, that it can be determined if the body is Arjun's.

After 71 days of searching, the lorry was retrieved by the mission team. 

The lorry was retrieved during the third phase of the search, which involved dredging operations. Owner Manaf has confirmed that Arjun was driving the same lorry at the time of the incident. Authorities have also removed the body from the cabin, and efforts are now underway to bring the lorry to shore.

A dredging search was conducted today in an area marked by  Major Gen. Indrabalan. The search was carried out under adverse weather conditions, and it has been reported that Arjun's lorry was recovered from the CP 2 area.

On the morning of July 16, Arjun's lorry was caught in a landslide on the Panvel-Kanyakumari National Highway, which passes through the Karnataka-Goa border. Arjun was returning to Edavanna after transporting acacia logs from the depot at Ramanagar in Belgaum when the incident took place.

During the search operations on Monday, skeletal remains, suspected to be human, were uncovered. The remains were sent for forensic test. 

On Sunday, diving expert Eshwar Malpe ended his search to find Arjun's lorry despite making headway in locating parts of some vehicles suspected to be swept away in the landslide. Malpe alleged that the administration and the district police chief had misbehaved with him, prompting him to call off the search.

Meanwhile, the search continues at Gangavali River with a dredger brought from Goa. On Sunday, the dredger company used divers from Gujarat to continue the search operation. Following this, parts, including the engine of a lorry, were found. 

The search for Arjun was called off on August 17 due to difficulties in removing the mud. After that, the operation remained in limbo for several days. Although a dredger was proposed, the main issue was funding, as it would cost Rs 1 crore. However, after the family met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, a decision was made to resume the search. The Karnataka Government will cover the Rs 1 crore cost for the dredger rental.