Kutch: Three individuals went missing while conducting a road survey in the Rann near Bela village in Rapar taluka on Sunday afternoon. While two of them have been found, local police and Border Security Force (BSF) teams are still searching for engineer Arnav Pal.

The incident occurred on Sunday, April 6, when a team working for a private contractor of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) entered the Rann area near Bela village for a road survey. Due to extreme heat and lack of water, two employees became exhausted. One surveyor sat down in the Rann, while West Bengal-based engineer Arnav Pal went ahead to fetch the vehicle. However, he never returned, prompting an ongoing search operation.

The Balasar-Khadir police and BSF personnel have been engaged in the search. Seven BSF vehicles and drone cameras are being deployed. Investigators also attempted to track the engineer using the light from his mobile phone at night, but without success.

The search operation is being led by East Kutch Police Chief Sagar Bagmar, Bhachau Deputy SP Sagar Sambhada, and Khadir PI M.N. Dave. More than 100 personnel from the Forest Department, BSF, and local authorities have joined the effort despite the intense heat and harsh terrain. With assistance from local experts, the search has also been extended to surrounding mobile desert areas.