Yellapur: The 31-year-old tourist vehicle driver Mohammed Raifq could not be found even after 48 hours of tracing as he was washed away by the overflow of water at Shalmala river at Ganesh Pal in Yellapur taluk.
The strong currents at Shalmala river had washed him away on 25th June and following the incident a rescue operation was organized by the Yellapur police, fire brigade and villagers in order to trace him.
Rafiq was a resident of Haveri and had come to Ganesh Pal with 19 others on Sunday morning. He entered the river in the evening and due to heavy rain in the catchment areas of Shalmala, there were strong currents.
He was unable to judge the water flow and was washed away in the strong currents. Four people from the group tried to move along the river in search of Rafiq for some distance, but it was in vain.
According to the officials, the river is flowing dangerously. If anyone gets washed away or drowns, there are chances of getting stuck in the big stones under water. The district administration is going to take the help from the Indian Navy from its Karwar base.
“Even after two-days of the mishap, we have not got any clue about Rafiq. Therefore we are going to take the help of expert divers of the Navy. I will request the Karwar Naval base officials to send expert divers to trace Rafiq”, said L Chandrashekar Naik, the in-charge deputy commissioner.