Tragedy averted: Portion of helipad sinks shortly after President Murmus chopper lands in Kerala
After the President departed for Pamba by road, TV footage showed police and fire department personnel pushing the helicopter’s wheels out of the shallow dents formed on the surface.
PTC News Desk: The helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu for her Sabarimala visit faced a minor issue when its wheels sank into a soft patch of the newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam on Wednesday morning.
After the President departed for Pamba by road, TV footage showed police and fire department personnel pushing the helicopter’s wheels out of the shallow dents formed on the surface. A senior district police officer explained that the stadium had been designated as the landing site at the last minute, prompting the helipad’s hurried construction late on Tuesday.
The helicopter was initially scheduled to land at Nilackal near Pamba, but the plan was changed due to bad weather.
“The concrete hadn’t fully set, so it couldn’t bear the helicopter’s weight, causing depressions where the wheels touched down,” the officer said.
President Murmu, who reached Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for a four-day visit to Kerala, travelled to Pathanamthitta district—home to the Sabarimala shrine—on Wednesday morning. From Pramadam, she continued her journey to Pamba, located at the base of the hill shrine, by road.