[1]Rescue work in progress near the crashed Pawan Hans helicopter at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Wednesday. PTI
Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda, his wife Meera and four others had a narrow escape on Wednesday when the helicopter carrying them crashlanded at Ranchi airport around 11.55 am.
The Munda couple and the other four — Majhgaon BJP MLA Barkunwar Gagrai, Mr Munda’s security officer Manoj Kumar, and pilots V.K. Singh and Kaushik — received multiple minor injuries due to the severe jolt as the helicopter turned on its side immediately after crashlanding. They were rushed to Ranchi’s Apollo Hospital within 15 minutes of the crashlanding.
“The CM is medically stable and alert. He is conscious and speaking. He has a fracture in his right hand and internal injuries at his waist and foot. All the five others are also stable and out of danger,” said hospital chief P.D. Sinha.
The DGCA has ordered an inquiry and rushed a team to the site. Sources at AAI said Mr Munda and the others were saved due to the pilots’ action in exhausting the fuel onboard before crashlanding, due to which there was no fire.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/rescue-work-progress-near-crashed-pawan-hans-helicopter-birsa-munda-airport-ranchi-wednesday-pti-471