Rider CS Santosh in medically-induced coma after suffering crash in Dakar Rally

Renowned Indian motorcycle rider CS Santosh, who suffered a crash during the ongoing Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, was airlifted to a hospital in Riyadh and put in a medically-induced coma, reports PTI.

The 37-year-old Santosh was representing the Hero MotoSports. He has been kept under a 24-hour observation.

Taking to Twitter, Hero MotoSports said, “In an unfortunate incident, @cs_santosh22 suffered a crash in Stage 4 of #Dakar2021 today. He has been taken to a hospital in Riyadh. In the initial assessment, he seems stable. Join us in wishing him a speedy recovery.”

He has a suspected head injury. According to reports, he was conscious when paramedics arrived on the scene before he was rushed to Riyadh.

The incident occurred on the same stage where last year, Hero MotoSport rider Paulo Goncalves died while competing in the Dakar 2020. Hero MotoSport withdrew from the rally after the death of Goncalves.