Sarbananda Sonowal narrowly escapes air crash

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday had a miraculous escape, when the helicopter in which he was travelling, was forced to make an emergency landing due to bad weather condition at Lakhimpur.

Mr Sonowal and his co-travellers experienced a few threatening moments as the helicopter twirled three times in the air. However, few intelligent maneuvering, the pilot and the co-pilot managed safe landing of the chopper.

Mr Sonowal travelling in a Pawan Hans helicopter with his media adviser Hrishikesh Goswami, his personal security officer and PA Tuheen Hazarika from Guwahati to Lakhimpur for an event. As the helicopter was about to land in Lakhimpur, it lost visibility in the fog. Bad weather and poor visibility made the pilot take the helicopter to around 3,000 feet up in the air.

“The helicopter twirled three times in the air and it was due to the efforts made by the pilot and the co-pilot we could land safely. It is due to the prayers of the people and the blessings of the almighty that we escaped,” Mr Goswami, who was among the passengers told reporters.

Security sources said that helicopter made an emergency landing at the Lilabari Airport in Lakhimpur, but no one was hurt in the incident.