Found Deceased India - Chanchal Lahiri/Wizard Mandrake, 40, River Ganges, 16 June 2019

[HayLouise]

Chanchal Lahiri: Stuntman feared dead after magic trick in River Ganges goes wrong

A frantic search was sparked after the escape artist failed to emerge from the water in front of family and friends.


Chanchal Lahiri being lowered into the River Hooghly in a glass cage box in 1998

A stuntman has been declared missing after he lowered himself into the River Ganges while tied up with rope and steel chains for a magic trick.

Chanchal Lahiri, also known as Wizard Mandrake, was lowered into the river by a crane while his friends, family and police watched from the river bank on Sunday.

Before entering the cage, the 40-year-old reportedly said: "If I can free myself it will be magic, if I cannot it will be tragic."

Mr Lahiri has not emerged from the river since - sparking a frantic search - and is feared dead.

"We are still searching," a family member told the AFP news agency.


Caged Indian escape artist Chanchal Lahiri waves to the crowd before being lowered into the Hooghly river in 2002

Chanchal Lahiri: Stuntman feared dead after magic trick in River Ganges goes wrong

River Ganges:

Google Maps

 

[HayLouise]

A Houdini-inspired magician plunged into the Ganges River during a stunt and hasn’t resurfaced



Indian stuntman Chanchal Lahiri, known by his stage name "Jadugar Mandrake," is lowered into the Ganges river June 16, 2019, while tied up with steel chains and ropes, in Kolkata, West Bengal. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Sitting on a boat on the Ganges River in West Bengal, India, magician Chanchal Lahiri had others bind him in ropes and chains and prepare to barricade him in a cage down in the water.

A search-and-rescue crew has been combing the waters to find him, but police told the news agency Monday he is believed to be dead.

Authorities said Lahiri had not planned for contingencies.



Leading up to Sunday’s stunt, the magician told AFP that he did almost the same stunt more than two decades ago in almost the same spot. “I was inside a bulletproof glass box tied with chain and locks and dropped down from Howrah Bridge. Then I came out within 29 seconds,” he told the news agency.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...o-ganges-river-during-stunt-hasnt-resurfaced/

 

[HayLouise]

Stuntman ‘Wizard Mandrake’ missing after being lowered into River Ganges tied up with steel chains

(Video)

The Sun on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

The Indian magician known as Wizard Mandrake is feared dead after attempting an underwater escape from locked chains, a stunt inspired by Harry Houdini

Indian Magician Who Tried Houdini-Inspired Stunt Is Feared Dead

New York Times World on Twitter

 

[Amonet]

I hate this story

I hope he turns up hundreds of miles away and no one ever knows how he got there.

 

[HayLouise]

Body found:

Body found in hunt for magician Wizard Mandrake trying to copy Houdini stunt

Police say they have confirmed the death of a stuntman who died after tying himself up with chains and ropes before being lowered into the Ganges in Calcutta.

Late yesterday police spokesman Syed Waquar Raza confirmed Lahiri, 40, was dead.

Body found in hunt for magician Wizard Mandrake trying to copy Houdini stunt | Metro News