Having completed their mission, the team was on their way back to the army lines when they were spotted by Tamil Tiger units while crossing the Mankulam–Thunukkai road. They came under heavy fire, which injured one of the soldiers in the team. Chandana and the team leader, a Sergeant named Jayakodi, provided covering fire while the rest of the team withdrew, carrying the injured soldier. However, Chandana was severely injured in the firefight and was left unable to move by himself. He insisted that his team leader withdraw with the rest of the team lest he also would get captured or killed, and kept fighting by himself against the Tamil Tiger units which were converging on their position.
