Army arrives for rescue operations at Shirur, CM Siddaramaiah reaches accident spot

MANGALURU: The army arrived for the rescue operations to find Arjun, the driver, who went missing with the lorry following a landslide at Shirur in Ankola. A 40-member team from Belagavi Camp arrived for the rescue mission. There was a demand from the Karnataka government to send the army, the other day. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also reached the accident site.

Presently, rescue operations are being carried out in areas where radar signals have been received. There are heavy rains in Shirur since this morning. This is seriously affecting the rescue operations. If the people trapped are found, they will be airlifted immediately. The assistance of navy will also be sought for the mission.

The family of Arjun had sent an e-mail to the Prime Minister seeking the help of the army to find him. The locals of Kannadikkal protested to expedite the rescue operations to find Arjun. His relative Jithin had alleged that there was a delay in the rescue mission in the beginning. Jithin revealed that eyewitnesses said that they saw the lorry at the spot 20 minutes before the accident.

It was earlier hinted that a part of the vehicle was found, but it was later confirmed that it was not. The navy, which conducted the search, has confirmed that the truck Arjun was driving did not fall into the river. At present, the National and State Disaster Response Forces, Coast Guard, Fire Rescue and Police are conducting a search.
Meantime, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court demanding to save Arjun’s life. The plea sought to direct the central government and the governments of Kerala and Karnataka to take steps to save the life of the youth. The plea was filed by lawyer Subhash Chandran.