Maldives speedboat mishap: 5 days on no sign of rally icon Hari Singh, sailing ace Mahesh Ramachandran

Chandigarh: There is growing concern as Chandigarh's ace rally driver Hari Singh, 59, and former Indian Navy Commander Mahesh Ramachandran, an Arjuna awardee in sailing, have not been found nearly five days after they went missing in a speedboat mishap in the Maldives on the night of March 19.Speaking about the recovery operations, Hari's long-time friend Shashi Pal Singh Garcha, a former national motocross champion and president of the Chandigarh Motorsports Association (CMSA), told TOI, "No luck so far. Search is on, full swing. Hari's close friend, who reached there on hearing the news, has met one of the senior commanders supervising the search operations. They will continue till the day after as of now."Ace sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (Retd) posted on X: "The sailing community in India has been in a state of shock ever since it learnt that Cdr Mahesh Ramachandran, one of the stalwarts of the sport, has been missing at sea following a boating accident off Maldives since Thursday night/ Friday early morning... One can only speculate on how the accident might have occurred, but it is clear that of the seven in the speedboat, the two missing are Cdr Mahesh and rally driver Hari Singh. Cdr Mahesh, a renowned dinghy sailor, Arjuna Awardee, winner of multiple national and international titles, has been a towering figure of Indian sailing. The sailing community is holding on to every bit of hope that Cdr Mahesh and Hari Singh are rescued at the earliest."Former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed offered his condolences, posting on X: "Saddened to hear of the sudden and tragic passing of two Indian nationals in an accident, including Hari Singh, a true pioneer of Indian motorsport. My sincere condolences to his family, loved ones, and the Indian racing community."Five-time Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) winner Hari and Cdr Ramachandran (Retd) were in the speedboat along with Gautam Singhania, CMD of Raymond Group, and four others. Singhania and the others were rescued but the two are yet to be found.