Ranchi, May 9 (IBNS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda and his wife had a providential escape on Wednesday when the helicopter in which they were flying crash landed in the state's capital Ranchi after a technical problem, causing some injuries, officials said.
The copter which hovered over Ranchi for quite sometime and made five failed attempts to land, finally crash-landed at the Ranchi airport.
Besides Munda, who suffered an ankle fracture, two pilots on board the copter and the CM's wife (Meera Munda) were injured.
They were all being treated in hospital.
The 44-year-old Munda, who runs a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government in Jharkhand, was flying to his constituency Sareikela-Kharsawan near Ranchi when the rudder control system of the copter started malfunctioning.
The pilot, who had took off at around 11 am, immediately sought emergency landing permission from the Air Traffic Control and finally he could land at around 12 noon.
The multi-turbine engine helicopter almost landed on its side but luckily there was no fire or explosion.
Munda was taken to hospital and being treated. His wife was also with him and she too suffered injuries.
Apollo Hospital doctors said the chief minister and others are out of danger and confirmed that the CM suffered an ankle fracture.
A probe has been ordered. India's airline regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA will investigate the incident.
Helicopter crash deaths of high profile politicians are not too rare in India.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorji Khandu was killed in May last year along with four others in his state while in 2009 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died from a crash.
