Chopper crash lands in Kerala

Kochi, April 11

A helicopter carrying prominent NRI businessman MA Yusuff Ali, his wife and four others crash-landed at a marshy land near here on Sunday morning, police said. All passengers, including Yusuff Ali, who is the chairman of international retail group Lulu Group, his wife and two other passengers along with two pilots on board the chopper owned by the company have been admitted to a private hospital here.

“All of them are safe. They are currently under observation,” a top official of the Lakeshore hospital where they are treated said.

The incident occurred at Panangad area at around 9 am on Sunday, according to a statement issued by Lulu Group International.

“Yusuff Ali, currently in Kerala, was on a short trip from his home in Kochi to visit a relative at nearby hospital.

Due to the sudden deterioration of weather conditions and heavy rains, the experienced pilots decided to make precautionary landing at a safe place to prevent any risk to the life of the passengers or public at large,” the statement said.

“All passengers and crew underwent necessary medical checkup and are safe,” it said.

An eyewitness said a major accident was averted as the pilots managed to make safe landing in a marshy land near the NH Bypass at Panangad.

Besides the busy highway in the neighbourhood, the small plot of land with compound walls is surrounded by electric lines and buildings. The incident occurred as the helicopter was slated to land on the ground of the Fisheries College, Panangad. The distance between the ground and marshy land is about 200 m, they said. A local person said he rushed to the spot seeing the crash landing of the chopper at the marshy land.He, along with the pilot of the chopper, took Yusuff Alito safety. “It was raining heavily. He was provided a chair to sit. He complained of backpain. The police reached the spot after 10 minutes and took all the passengers to the hospital,” the man said. PTI