D. Chandran and Chitra tearfully hope for their son’s homecoming to their Koyambedu house after his trip to Shimla. But, the architecture student has been declared ‘missing’ after the SUV he was travelling in plunged into the Sutlej River on Thursday afternoon.
Magesh Chandran (21), a final-year B. Arch student at MEASI Academy of Architecture, inside the New College campus in Royapettah, had completed the second phase of his internship on May 1 at an architecture firm in Ahmedabad.
The youngster was part of a team from the office which went on a trip to Shimla and adjoining areas. The group reached Delhi by train on May 3 and headed by road on two SUVs to Shimla. “While returning, they entered a mountain pass in Kinnar district and the vehicle which had Magesh and three others, including the driver, skid off the road and fell into the river. While the three others managed to scramble out, Magesh was trapped and washed away in the heavy current,” Balakrishnan, the victim’s uncle, said.
A rescue operation, including an aerial search, went on for most of Thursday evening and the whole of Friday but efforts were suspended temporarily due to severe rains. We contacted authorities at the Secretariat here on Saturday in order to help resume the search operations. They were swift to respond to our plea and the efforts continued there. The search continues but we have little hope,” he added.
Himachal Pradesh authorities informed Magesh’s family that the vehicle fell into an extremely deep spot in the river and the chances of rescue are minimal.
