Team Herald
PANJIM: Search operations to locate missing 22-year-old Gujarati businessman Bashudev Bhandari who mysteriously disappeared after the rental car he was driving plunged into the river at St Estevam proved futile.
After almost a month, the Old Goa police, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Fire and Emergency Services (FES) personnel on Monday resumed deep sea search operations for the youth who has ‘vanished’ since August 31.
The authorities with the help of drones and underwater cameras tried their best to find clues leading to the traces of the missing youth.
Bashudev was feared drowned after the car he was driving slipped into the river and his family members refused to believe that he could have drowned, claiming he was a good swimmer.
During the search operation, Bashudev’s father and brother also accompanied the team at the venue.
Speaking to O Heraldo, Old Goa Station Fire Officer (SFO) R D Parab said, “The search operation began at 9 am and continued till 6 pm. A team of 50 personnel from Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Coastal Police and Fire and Emergency Services (FES) conducted the search operation. An area of upto 200 metres, both sides from the spot where the car driven by Bhandari was retrieved, was searched. Besides that drones were pressed into service which gave the aerial view of the area which included both water and land. However, we did not meet with any success.”
The incident had occurred between late night of August 31 and wee hours of September 1, 2024. The car was driven by Bashudev accompanied by a female friend who was a student from the Goa Institute of Management, Sankhali. According to the victim girl, they met with an accident with a sedan car at Marcel at around 01.05 hours.