Hopes fade as no trace of rallyist, sailor 72 hrs after Maldives speedboat crash

Maldivian authorities have been scouring the seas since Friday morning and rescued five of the seven persons involved in the accident

Mumbai: Hopes are fading for the rescue and recovery of Indian motor racing star Hari Singh and sailing stalwart Commander Mahesh Ramchandra, 72 hours after their speedboat crashed in the Maldives on early Friday.

The impact of the speedboat crash was such that five of the seven people on board fell into the sea.

The search and rescue teams of the Maldivian police and Maldivian National Defence Force which have been scouring the seas since Friday morning and rescued five of the seven persons involved in the accident, have however extended their search operations to seven days, said friends of Singh.

The missing duo is part of a group holidaying on Raymond Industries’ chairman Gautam Singhania’s yacht Ashena parked in the Indian Ocean at Maldives. On Friday, after partying on board, Singhania and his guests reportedly decided to go racing on the speedboat, a little after midnight.

Though there is no formal confirmation of who was driving the speedboat, local sources told industry magazine ‘Autocar India’ that it was Singhania who was behind the wheel. HT could not verify this independently. In addition to the two unidentified women-- one Russian and one from the UK—there were five men on board: Singhania, 60; the five-time Indian rally champion Hari Singh, 59; another sporting icon and ace yachtsman (retd.) naval commander Mahesh Ramchandran, 58, who was also skippering the Ashena, Singhania’s $15 million yacht; Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Manek Bhardwaj who runs a supercar-tuning company Racetech India; and Jagdish Singh Aithani about whom there is, as yet, little information.

When contacted, Atoll Commander Hasan Wajeeh and the investigating officer said they were unable to share information about the case as investigations were on, while Singhania’s spokesperson called the incident a “serious mechanical failure.”

Shujau Ali, however, flagged another issue: “Under the Maldivian law on navigation of vessels at sea, foreigners are not allowed to drive any recreational vessels on their own. There are some sport vehicles like jet skis which can be used by tourists but only under the supervision of someone who has permission to operate such vessels. There was no Maldivian national on this boat. This was not a normal speedboat but one that was especially designed for recreational racing.”

Locals, familiar with the sea in the Maldives, he added, would have known better than to go racing in the sea in the middle of the night. “It is not something someone in good condition of mind would ever do. If there was a local present on the boat, he would not be speed-driving in the night on the sea,” said Ali.

In a statement issued on March 21, the MNDF had said that their search operations had covered a maritime area of 3450 sq. nautical miles for surface search. Divers had conducted additional underwater searches covering approximately 7,000 sq. m. The MNDF Air corps was also roped in for aerial surveillance. But the lack of clarity and information about the accident has resulted in anguish and anger among the motor racing and sailing communities with many of them blaming Singhania for the accident on their social media.

“There are speculations being spread on social media regarding an unfortunate speedboat accident involving a serious mechanical failure. It is disconcerting to note the irresponsible nature of comments circulating with total disregard for the facts. Gautam Singhania continues to recover under due care and is closely monitoring and supporting the ongoing search operations. We continue to pray for and support the friends and families of those affected,” said his spokesperson on Monday.

Ex-navy commander and solo circumnavigator Abhilash Tomy said commander Ramachandran is a stalwart of sailing. “There are very few Arjuna awardees in sailing, and he is one of them,” Tomy told HT on Monday. He said he had known Ramachandran since 1998 and the latter was a naval pilot before he became a sailor. “He is a great competitor, but once the competition was over, he is the greatest friend you could have.”

Vicky Chandhok, motor racing veteran and former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Association of India, and a friend of Hari Singh’s told HT: “The lack of information is very upsetting. Nobody knows what really happened. The information we have is mostly hearsay. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Can you imagine the plight of his family? We are holding on to hope but we need some answers on what happened,” said Chandhok.