Chennai: Fifty seven year old S Krishnamurthy, director, publications and public relations, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), succumbed to accident injuries this morning at the Sri Venkatachari Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupathi.

Last Friday night the car in which Krishnamurthy was travelling to Tirupathi from Bangalore crashed against a stationary vehicle.

While Krishanmurthy was admitted at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences with multiple fractures and head injuries, co-passenger Rajeev Lochan, scientific secretary, ISRO, and Chandran, the driver died on the spot, a few kilometres from Tirupathi.

ISRO officials usually go to the temple at Tirupathi to get Lord Venkateswara''s blessings before a rocket launch, by placing a replica of the rocket to be launched at the feet of the deity.

As the agency is planning a geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV) launch this month the officials were on their customary visit to Tirupathi when their car met with the accident.

An electronics engineer by qualification Krishnamurthy joined ISRO in 1977 at Sriharikota, where the rockets are launched. Subsequently he moved to Bangalore, which is near to his native Mysore. In 1989 he became the director, publications and public relations of the space agency.

Even since the soft spoken and affable Krishnamurthy endeared himself to the media by explaining rocket science in simple terms to any journalist-whether he / she is from a small or big publication.

Always precise and to the point, Krishnamurthy never gave wishy-washy answers.
He was instrumental in organising media workshops for journalists in Chennai and Bangalore to demystify the issues relating to rocket launches and ISRO.

Krishnamurthy is survived by his wife and a daughter who is studying in the US.

The media fraternity will surely feel Krishnamurthy''s absence during future rocket launches.