A team of scuba divers has stumbled upon the wreckage of a single-seater aircraft that sank in the 1960s off the Neelankarai coast in south Chennai.
Residents of the fishing hamlet recalled that they had rescued the pilot, who was pulled out by two men who caught his long tresses on that day.
“I was just 10 years old then and my father showed me the aircraft as we were returning home after fishing. I saw it from a distance and saw it sink into the water,” said Devadas Ganapathi, who is now 65. His son Chandru was one of the four divers who found the wreckage. The others were S.S.B. Aravind Tharunsri, master instructor, Professional Association of Diving Instructors in Australia, who led the diving expedition, and Thimoth and Arun.
A report in The Hindu on August 13, 1964, said that an aircraft mechanic of the Navy had taken the Seahawk jet fighter for a spin from the Meenambakkam airport at 7.15 a.m. without informing the control tower. After circling over the city, he returned to the airport but could not land and went for another round but later crashed into the sea.
Mr. Devadas said that the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the water and, later when he regained consciousness, he gave ₹10 notes to four fishers who helped him.
Scuba diver Mr. Aravind said the wreckage found at a depth of 12 metres at a distance of 1.5 km was quite intact.
“One wing is under the sea bed and the other one tilted upwards at an angle. Fishermen kept telling us to help them with the object that cut their nets. And two days ago, we found this wreckage. We will not touch it since it is not allowed,” he said.
