CHENNAI: The body of the driver who fell into the sea along with the car at Chennai Port on Tuesday night was recovered on Wednesday night. I Mohammad Shahi (33) had lost control of the car while driving it on the jetty there. The police are inquiring whether a tyre burst led to the accident.
“We suspect that the body was stuck in the mud and slush underwater. A ship came to the harbour on Wednesday night, and its movement must have disturbed the ocean floor as the body floated to the surface sometime later. We recovered it and sent it to Government Stanley Hospital for postmortem,” a police source told TNIE.
Shahi was an acting driver at a private travel company that was hired by the Indian Coast Guard in Chennai for the past few months.
Shahi arrived at the harbour around 9 pm to pick up Coast Guard officer Jogendra Kanda. After Kanda got in, the car headed to another post but plunged into the sea, 85-90 feet deep, as Shahi lost control while turning near the jetty.
Kanda, seated in the back, broke a window, swam to safety, and raised an alarm. Local police and Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation at the site. His family staged a protest and demanded swift action.
Shahi’s body was handed over to his family after the postmortem.