JODHPUR: Search for Captain Ankit Gupta, who went missing after jumping into Kaylana lake during an army exercise on Thursday, failed to yield results for the fifth day on Monday. Disappointed due to persistent failure, the army deployed heavy compressors with a view to churn the water expecting that if the officer was stuck somewhere at the bottom of the lake, he would surface on the water.
Pipes connected to these compressors were dropped to the bottom of the lake and air with heavy pressure was infused in these pipes to stir the bottom and create huge waves.
Local diver Dau Lal Malviya (71), who has been conducting such searches for past 50 years and has extracted about 800 bodies, was quite surprised that a person could not be found even after five days of search and that too after employing the best divers of the country and latest machines.
“In my career so far, no search has exceeded 3 days. But this was for the first time that we are empty handed for five days”, said Malviya.
About the new technique using compressors, he said this was a conventional method and had been used by him successfully 20 year back in Udaipur to search a person.
Meanwhile, a new team of experts and divers comprising 20 persons equipped with special cameras also joined the operation. According to the sources, the murky quality of water has been inhibiting the divers to see clearly.
Sub-inspector Manoj Kumar said every person engaged in this search operation had been working tirelessly in the hope of success. “Over 250 persons comprising experts, divers and other support staff have been actively mobilized at the lake with 15 boats equipped with equipment”, Kumar said. Experts said thick moss at the bottom of the lake, rocky formation, sticky sand and shrubs have been causing troubles in search operations.