KOTTAYAM: The police and Fire and Rescue personnel have launched a search for the driver of a tipper lorry that veered off the road and plunged into a quarry pond at Mariappally near Kottayam on Friday night.
Though the lorry was found at a depth of 20 feet in the pond, the driver could not be spotted. The pond is around 100 feet deep, according to local residents.
Police said the driver has been identified as B Ajikumar, 42, of Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district. A team of scuba divers from the Fire and Rescue Department has been scouring the area since Friday night. A crane was brought in the night itself to lift the lorry. However, the attempt was abandoned as the crane tilted while attempting to lift the lorry. Local residents have expressed doubts that the driver could have got trapped in the cabin of the lorry.
According to the police, the lorry was on its way to Chepad with a load from the fertilizer depot at Mariapally. While passing through the quarry stretch, the lorry overturned and plunged into the pond at around 9.30 pm on Friday. The lorry was driven by Ajikumar, who is also the owner.