75% debris cleared at landslide-hit Shirur in Karnataka

Nearly 75 per cent of the debris at the Shirur village in the taluk, which witnessed a massive landslide on Tuesday, was cleared by Friday evening.

While the National Highway 66 may be free of debris on Saturday, officials have not yet decided to allow vehicular movement on the road as the area is still witnessing regular landslips.

The rescue operations received a boost on Friday after deep sea divers from the Indian Navy of Sea-Bird joined the National and State Disaster Response Force (NDRF and SDRF) in scanning the muddied waters of Gangavali river.

The district administration believes three persons --- Jagannath Naik and Sanni Gowda of Shirur village and Arjun, a truck driver from Kerala --- are still missing.

Very heavy rain lashed the area since morning. It further complicated the rescue operations as the river started flowing above the danger mark.

Mobile ringing

Munnaf, a Kerala-based truck owner, visited the accident spot on Friday and claimed that one of his trucks was under the debris as per the last GPS location from the vehicle.

Family members of Arjun, the truck driver, who is believed to be stuck in a landslide, claimed that his mobile phone was ringing even on Friday morning.

The police used the help of a metal detector to identify the location. However, they got no clue.