Members of President Pranab Mukherjee's entourage, including Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela, today escaped unhurt when the helicopter ferrying them made an emergency landing at Vadodra after developing a technical problem.
The incident was reported at about 4:00 PM after the three Mi-17 choppers took off from Ankleshwar to Ahmedabad after the President inaugurated a super-speciality hospital there.
However, only the chopper carrying the President and another one landed here.
Officials said the third chopper in the fleet developed a technical glitch mid-air and it made an emergency landing at Vadodara, about 90 kms from Ankleshwar. Vaghela and other members of the Presidential entourage were onboard the helicopter.
"All the occupants of the chopper that made an emergency landing in Vadodara are safe. They will take a replacement chopper to reach Ahmedabad," a senior official said.
The last event of the day where the President was supposed to meet the students of 'Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village and Samarpan Education and Research Campus' was also "rescheduled" and timed for an hour later due to this development.
The President is on a two-day tour to Gujarat. He had arrived in Gandhinagar yesterday.
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Later, during the event, the President expressed "regret" for reaching late and said a helicopter in his fleet had developed a "technical problem".
The helicopter caused some problems and we could not reach in time. I sincerely regret that, he said.
