Karnataka: 3 killed, 4 feared dead in landslide in Uttara Kannada district

Three persons were killed and four others feared dead after a massive landslide near Shirur village in Karnatakas Uttara Kannada district on Tuesday officials saidKarnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said seven persons including four members of a family were feared killed in the landslide on National Highway 66A police officer told PTI We have recovered three bodies so far including that of 47yearold Lakshman Naik and his 36yearold wife Shanti Naik who were running an eatery on the National Highway 66 Search operations are underway to trace others who are feared deadThe others who are feared dead are Roshan 11 Avantika 6 and Jagannath 55 the Ministers office said in a statementPolice sources said parts of a hill collapsed on the roadside eateryGowda told the Legislative Assembly that drivers of three gas tankers had stopped by at the eatery for a tea break when mud and rocks plunged down the hillThe landslide triggered by incessant rains also swept away two of the the three tankers into the Gangavali river flowing on other side of the roadLocal police along with National Disaster Response Force personnel and other agencies are carrying out rescue operations amid rains sources saidFollowing the incident vehicular traffic on the road has been suspendedFour members of a family who ran the Dhaba and three drivers might have died A total of seven people are suspected to have been killed the Minister said Body of a woman has been found floating in the river he addedSince the loaded gas tankers in the river can be dangerous people from the BPCL and HPCL are attending to it Gowda saidGowda said on the directions of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah the district in charge Minister Mankal S Vaidya has rushed to the spotThe Minister alleged that the National Highways Authority of India while building National Highway 66 cut the hill steep instead of a 45 degree slope resulting in the accidentLast year in July I went there I had received a complaint against NHAI I had then written to NHAI to rectify the design NHAI is a central body that doesnt respond on time he allegedDiscussions with the National Highway Authority officials will be held today itself Additionally a letter will be sent through the Chief Secretary of the government the Minister addedAfter the incident senior police officers and Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada district Lakshmi Priya visited the sceneAccording to officials it might take more than 24 hours to clear the mud lying on the road as rains are hindering the operationMeanwhile the Karnataka government has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of those who were killed in the landslideThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever