SHIRUR (UTTARA KANNADA): More than 12 people were feared trapped under the rubble after a massive landslide at Shirur near Ankola on Karwar-Kumta Road (NH 66) on Tuesday morning. Among them, five are said to be members of a family, who ran a hotel on the highway.
By evening, six bodies were recovered from the Gangavalli river below the highway. Four bodies have been identified as Lakshman Bommaiah Naik, 45, hotel owner, his wife Shanti Lakshman Naik, their son Roshan, and truck driver Chinnannan.
Lakshman Naik’s daughter Avanthika Lakshman Naik, 6, their relative Upendra Naik, 50, and Jaganath Naik, 49, and Sanni Hanumantha Gouda, 65, were among those feared trapped under the rubble.
An entire hillock slid on the highway near Belase village adjacent to Kodasani bridge at Shirur around 8 am following heavy rain. The hotel on the highway and several vehicles, including a fuel tanker, were swept away.
According to eyewitnesses, the hillock came down all of a sudden and swept away the hotel, several vehicles and part of the four-lane highway. “A car was moving on this stretch when the landslide took place. We don’t know whether the driver and others in the car managed to escape,” said Raju, whose truck lay buried under the rubble.
According to Raju, at least four trucks and two fuel tankers were parked near the hotel when the hillock came down. “Truck drivers usually stop here for tea,” he said.
Residents of Shirur and Belase blamed a private company that built the highway for the landslide. “Unscientific construction work led to this disaster. The engineers of the company did not cut the hillock scientifically,” Purushottam Naik, a relative of Lakshman said.
“They cut the hillock without taking into account the terrain and heavy rain the region receives during monsoon. The hillock came down because of this reason,” Purushottam Naik said.
A team from NDRI launched a search and rescue operation within a few hours of the landslide. However, heavy rain hindered their rescue operation for most part of the day.
Deputy Commissioner Uttara Kannada Lakshmi Priya, ZP Chief Executive Officer Ishwar Khandoo and Superintendent of Police visited the spot.
Lakshmi Priya said the rescue operation is on and efforts are on to resume traffic on the highway. “More earthmoving vehicles and equipment are on their way from Hubballi. A team of officials has been formed to oversee the rescue work,” she added.
Several houses have been inundated by the swollen Gangavalli river. Affected people have been shifted to temporary rehabilitation centres.
Meanwhile, district in-charge minister Mankal Vaidya, who was in the Legislative Assembly, rushed to the spot and inspected the rescue operation.
A frantic search
A stray dog which was adopted by Lakshman Naik, the hotel owner, was seen howling and frantically searching for its owner and his family members amid heavy rain and slush at the spot where the landslide took place at Shirur on Tuesday.
