Palakkad: The body of Abu Thahir, the lorry driver who crashed into a quarry along with his vehicle at Karukaputhur in Palakkad on Thursday, was retrieved on Friday morning.

Scuba diving personnel recovered the body after it surfaced in the quarry water. The lorry was pulled out around midnight on Thursday, but the driver was missing. The rescue team had planned to resume the search on Friday morning after failing to locate him during the initial operation.

The accident occurred around 8 am on Thursday when the lorry fell into the quarry while unloading sand. Abu Thahir, a native of Chathanoor, was reportedly reversing the vehicle when it lost control and crashed into the water from a height of around 30 feet.

According to local residents, work had been underway since around 6 am to fill up the privately owned, disused quarry. Several lorries and earthmovers had been deployed at the site. Residents said layers of mud had fallen over the vehicle after the accident, complicating the rescue operation.

The Pattambi Fire Force received information about the accident around 8.45 am. Personnel, including scuba diving teams from Kunnamkulam and Perinthalmanna, were deployed for the rescue operation.