The search operation for Kerala-based trucker Arjun and two other victims of the massive landslide in Karnataka’s Shirur on July 16 has been suspended for a week. However, on Tuesday, a decomposed body was found floating in the sea near Honnavar beach. Fishermen spotted the body and alerted the coastal police, who called in underwater recovery expert Eshwar Malpe to retrieve it.
Initially suspected to be one of the Shirur landslide victims, the body was later identified as a local fisherman from Honnavar who had gone missing three days ago. The discovery was made about 25 km from the landslide-hit region. Arjun’s relatives have confirmed that his brother’s DNA sample is with the Karnataka government for further examination.
The Uttara Kannada district administration had stopped the rescue operation for Arjun and the other two victims, Lokesh and Jagannath, after 13 days due to heavy rain and strong water currents in the Gangavali river. The district administration has yet to clear disaster management personnel, including the Navy, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), to resume operations.
State government officials reported that the river’s speed has decreased from 20 knots to eight knots. For safety reasons, the government is waiting for the water currents to reduce further to 3-4 knots before allowing Navy divers and Eshwar to resume the search.