Indian 'Houdini' Chanchal Lahiri dies during botched underwater magic act

The body of a famous Indian magician was found in the Hooghly River in Kolkata one day after he attempted to recreate one of late icon Harry Houdini's most famous stunts.

Chanchal Lahiri, who goes by the stage name of "Jadugar Mandrake" or "Wizard Mandrake," was found dead near the Howrah Bridge late Monday evening, Kolkata police official Syed Waquar Raza confirmed to the AFP.

On Sunday, Lahiri had his legs and arms bound with ropes and chains before being lowered into the large body of water by crane, mimicking Houdini's underwater box escape act, which was declared "one of the most remarkable tricks ever performed" by Scientific American magazine in 1912.

The 40-year-old showman, who was wearing an eye-catching yellow and red costume while attempting the dangerous stunt, would have typically broken free of the restraints quickly and emerge from the water, photographer and eyewitness Jayanta Shaw told CNN International.

Photos from the scene:

However, when Lahiri failed to resurface, Shaw said onlookers, including Lahiri's family and team members, began to panic, prompting authorities to begin a day-long search for the missing magician through the river's murky waters.

Lahiri had successfully attempted a similar stunt 21 years ago, in which, in an interview with AFP, he recalled he was placed inside a bulletproof glass box tied with chain and locks and dropped down from Howrah bridge into the same river where he would tragically die two decades later.

"Then I came out within 29 seconds," he told the news agency shortly before his failed second attempt.

The magician had previously stated he wanted to pull off the daredevil stunt in order to revive the public's interest in magic, which he saw as a dying art.

"If I can open it up then it will be magic," he said. "But if I can't it will be tragic."