Shirur landslide: After 13 days, search operations called off due to persistent rain and rising water level of Gangavali river | News from Bangalore

Among the three missing persons was Arjun, a truck driver from Kerala, and the search operation confirmed a few days ago that his truck was probably in the lower reaches of the Gangavali river. “Search operations were carried out on Saturday and Sunday at three places where parts of the truck were found. However, due to the (weather) situation, we are forced to temporarily stop the operation,” an official said.

Eshwar Malpe, a diving expert involved in the search operation, said, “The force of the current in the Gangavalli river is unimaginable. With the help of oxygen, I have searched at a depth of 40 feet. The visibility is also poor and we cannot continue the search operations under the circumstances.”

An official who monitors the deep-sea divers said there were many stones on the riverbed. “Also, tangled high-tension wires were found and on Sunday there was a fear that divers might get caught on the roots of a banyan tree. There is a risk of them getting injured. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to wait for now,” the official said.

District minister Mankal Vaidya said the search operations would be resumed once the water level receded. “We have sought the opinion of experts before calling off the search operations. We will resume operations once conditions are favourable,” Vaidya said.

The massive landslide occurred at around 8.30 am on July 16. It destroyed the Karwar-Mangaluru stretch of the 1,640 km long National Highway 66, which connects Panvel in Maharastra to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Besides the damage to the highway, four houses and two power poles were destroyed in Akola. A tea stall and two trucks were also washed away by the landslide. Eight bodies have been recovered during search operations so far.