Kikkeri:  “Please locate my son’s body… please trace my husband’s body,” were the words that came out of truck driver Santosh’s mother and his wife Navya who were seen pleading with Hassan DC Rohini Sindhuri.

Santosh, a resident near Kikkeri in K.R. Pet taluk who was driving a Gas Tanker via Shiradi Ghat from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, along with cleaner Venkatesh, a native of Manvi taluk in Raichur were buried alive near Doddathappale village in Sakleshpur after the tanker fell to a valley following landslide.

The operation to retrieve the bodies from the tanker cabin began four days ago and the rescuers were able to retrieve the body of Venkatesh but were unable to retrieve the body of driver Santosh due to heavy rains and fear of more landslides.

There is about 40 ft. of water flowing in the valley and the tanker cabin is stuck in the slush. The rescuers are pumping out water using 10 water pumps and as it is pouring rain there has been a delay in the rescue operation.

DC Rohini Sindhuri assured the family members of driver Santosh that steps have been taken to retrieve the body of Santosh which has been hampered by rain. But additional rescuers have been summoned to trace and retrieve the body of Santosh, the DC added.