Daijiworld Media Network - Dehradun
Dehradun, Jun 19: BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and his family had a close call when the helicopter they had hired crashed barely hours after leaving them at the airport.
The pilot and engineer of helicopter have sustained serious injuries. The crash was reported from the Ladpur jungles.
Gadkari and his family had hired a helicopter and two other choppers to go on Chardham yatra. The choppers landed safely while the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault while flying to Sahastradhara helipad here from Jolly Grant Airport.
An inquiry has been ordered into the incident by the state government and DGCA too will conduct its own investigation into the cause of the crash.
The pilot, Navin Vid, and engineer Navnil Kumar had been admitted to government Coronation hospital, before being shifted to a private hospital.
Reports stated that the helicopter broke into pieces, with its tail entangled in a tree. Though it crashed into a residential area, no casualties were reported. The pilot may have tried to avoid crashing into the area.