Maharastra CM Fadnavis narrowly escapes as his chopper crash lands
Latur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his team of officials had a providential escape when their chopper crash-landed here on Thursday noon.
The state government’s Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took offf from Nilanga town, near Latur around noon with six persons, including Fadnavis, two crew members and three other officials.
Shortly after take-off, the pilot noticed variable wind patterns and decided to return to the helipad.
During landing the chopper got entangled in some overhead electrical wires near the helipad and crash-landed there, the official said.
All the persons on board, including Fadnavis, are safe though the chopper suffered substantial damage.
Fadnavis himself tweeted on the crash, saying they were safe and there were no casualties.
Though prima facie the chopper crash is attributed to some technical snag, a detailed inquiry into the mishap would ascertain the exact cause of the accident, said an official.
According to his tweets posted before Fadnavis boarded the chopper, the chief minister was in Halgara village in Latur as part of the Shivar Samvad initiative, which involves interactions and discussions with farmers.
Fadnavis said it was “inspiring” that Halgara had become free of relying on water tankers.