Indian police recovered the body of a stuntman on Tuesday 18th June, after he went missing in the Hooghly River while attempting a daredevil trick.
Chanchal Lahiri, 40 — better known by his stage name “Jadugar Mandrake”, or “Wizard Mandrake” — was undertaking an escape stunt near the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata on Sunday 16th June, where he was tied up with steel chains and rope and lowered into the water.
He was expected to free himself and swim to the surface as he had done many times before. Yet worried spectators, which included team members and his family, launched a frantic search along the banks of the river after he failed to emerge 30 minutes later.
Before being lowered into the water, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Lahiri told the crowd: “If I can open it up then it will be magic, but if I can’t it will be tragic.”
