Bhubaneshwar, December 09: President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday narrowly escaped in a helicopter mishap at Bhubaneshwar airport. She was travelling to Bhubaneshwar after inaugurating an Urban Haat at Puri.
President Patil was accompanied by her husband Devisingh Shekhawat and Orissa Governor M C Bhandari when three blades of the helicopter ferrying them back from Puri hit the asbestos shed of a shed at Bhubaneswar airport this evening. Afterwards, the pilot managed to land the helicopter safely.
All three VVIPs are safe, a senior official said.
Three blades of the 16-seater helicopter struck the shed, uprooting its asbestos roof, he said adding the three blades bent under the impact.
The local authorities are trying to probe the matter to detect if it was a human fault or a technical error.
This is the second incident of this kind involving a senior politician. Two days back, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter had landed in zero-visibility on Monday.
—Agencies