Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda and others, including his wife Meera, who were travelling with him survived when their helicopter crashed at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport on Wednesday.
Munda and his wife were visiting his contituency Sereikela, but the pilot could not land the helicopter as there was a technical snag with the rudder control systems.
The pilot then alerted the Air Traffic Controllers at the Birsa Munda Airport and after receiving permission for a precautionary landing he returned to Ranchi.
According to reports, the mishap occurred around 12.30 pm when the chopper, Agusta AW 109 with twin engines, hovered for ten minutes while Captain VK Singh was trying to find the safest possible landing. But the helicopter crashed making an uncontrolled descent from a height of about 25-30 feet. The helicopter turned turtle on landing but did not catch fire.
"The helicopter fell from a height apparently due to a technical problem while landing," Zee News quoted a close aide of the Chief Minister as saying.
"The Chief Minister was accompanied in the helicopter by his wife Meera Munda, an MLA. and a security officer," Jharkhand DGP G S Rath said.
After the mishap, all those injured were rushed to the hospital. Munda was initially taken to Ranchi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for a precautionary check-up. He was later shifted to Apollo Hospital.
Doctors who attended on Munda said that his condition was stable and he was out of danger.
"The Chief Minister has received multiple injuries. All six travelling in the helicopter has been brought to Apollo Hospital. All of them are safe and cooperating with the doctors," NDTV quoted Apollo Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr PG Sinha as saying.
"The Chief Minister has multiple injuries and multiple abrasions. The Chief Minister is critical, but stable and out of danger. He is in the ICU," he added.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) team is expected to investigate the cause of the crash.
