3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 24, 2026 07:40 AM IST
Four days after a luxury speedboat accident in Maldives in which Raymond Group’s Gautam Singhania was injured, two other Indian nationals onboard, ace rally driver Hari Singh and former Navy captain Mahesh Ramchandran, remain missing. As search operations continue, relatives of Singh and Ramchandran have reached Maldives and are being assisted by the Indian embassy in Male.
While 59-year old Hari Singh is a five-time national motor rally champion, Arjuna awardee Commander Mahesh Ramchandran, 60, is an Asian Games silver medalist in sailing.
At the time of the accident late Thursday night, reports said, there were seven people onboard the vessel. Besides Singhania, Singh and Ramchandran, there were two women from UK and Russia, and two other Indian men.
The accident occurred around two nautical miles southwest of Keyodhoo Island. Singhania and four others were rescued. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) had deployed Bayraktar TB2 drones to Vaavu Atoll to locate the two missing men.
After the speed boat capsized, Singhania returned to Mumbai Friday and was admitted to Breach Candy hospital. “He continues to recover under due care and is closely monitoring and supporting the ongoing search operations,” a spokesperson for Singhania said.
While the spokesperson did not respond to questions on the circumstances of the accident, he told The Indian Express Monday that the accident occurred due to a “serious mechanical failure”.
“There is speculation on social media regarding an unfortunate speedboat accident involving a serious mechanical failure. It is disconcerting to note the irresponsible nature of comments circulating with total disregard for the facts… We continue to pray for and support the friends and families of those affected,” he said.
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A sense of grief and shock has gripped both the motorsport and sailing fraternity. SPS Garcha, long-time friend of Hari and president of Chandigarh Motorsports Association, told The Indian Express, “Gautam Singhania knew where the (accident) spot was. He knew what happened. He should have been there in Maldives to oversee the rescue operations to ensure (he could) help in any way (he could).”
Commander Ramchandran’s former teammate Giridhari Lal Yadav, who is a coach at the MP Sailing academy in Bhopal, said, “Even after he went to work with Gautam Singhania, Mahesh continued to be associated with coaching young sailors about the nitty-gritty of the sport, sharing knowledge freely as a hobby. He could read winds and waves better than anyone.”
Sources in Maldives said search and rescue operations have been on since the accident. While drones were deployed to scan a large area of the ocean, the missing persons haven’t been traced.
On Saturday, the Maldives National Defence Force posted that it was “continuing an extensive search and rescue operation to locate two individuals reported missing from a speedboat in the vicinity of V Keyodhoo.”
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A statement released by Commander Ramchandran’s friends and the naval sailing fraternity said: “As the search continues, the uncertainty weighs heavily on all who know him, and we hold onto hope for his safe return.” With inputs from Purnima Sah in Mumbai
