Magician missing after being lowered into Ganges River in cage
A stuntman famed for his underwater showpieces is feared dead after he failed to emerge from a river.
Chanchal Lahiri, who goes by his stage name Jadugar Mandrake, which translates as Wizard Mandrake, was lowered by a crane into India’s River Ganges while wrapped in ropes and chains on Sunday but failed to emerge from the water.
Authorities began searching for the 40-year-old in front of a horrified crowd including family and the media.
"We are still searching," a family member told AFP.
Before his latest trick, he admitted there was a fine line between success and failure for the stunt.
"If I can free myself it will be magic, if I cannot it will be tragic," he said before his latest trick.
Lahiri explained that he had achieved this same feat in a more difficult version 21 years ago at the same location.
"I was chained inside a glass cage and I jumped into the water from the Howrah bridge, and it took me only 29 seconds to get out," he told AFP earlier.
He did recognise however that this time it would be more difficult.
He gained notoriety over the years for his ability to escape cages lowered into bodies of water.
However in 2013, Lahiri tried to evade a glass cage but came under public scrutiny when it was discovered he was using a disguised exit built into the cage.
With AFP
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