Dehradun, Oct 1 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had a providential escape Monday when the chopper that he was travelling in passed closely to a high tension wire that had sparks flying from it.
Officials in the chief minister secretariat told IANS that the incident occurred in Ghansali area in the Tehri region when Bahuguna was returning from an election rally.
They said that there was no “contact between the high tension wire and the chopper carrying the chief minister”.
“The chief minister is safe and is back in his official residence. No harm has come to the VIP passengers or the helicopter,” an official said.
Officials said that the incident took place due to the air pressure created by the chopper’s blade as it was flying at a low altitude.
After a brief stoppage after the incident, the chief minister took the home-bound flight again.
Bahuguna had gone to campaign in Tehri, the Lok Sabha constituency from which he resigned after becoming the chief minister. The by-poll will be held Oct 10.
Bahuguna’s son Saket is the Congress candidate in the by-poll against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mala Raj Laxmi Shah, the daughter-in-law of the erstwhile Tehri royal family’s scion Manvendra Shah.