President Droupadi Murmu faced an unusual scare on Wednesday when a portion of the helipad at her landing site in Kerala gave way under the weight of her helicopter. The incident occurred during her official four-day visit to the state which includes a scheduled visit to the Sabarimala temple.
According to reports, the helicopter had just touched down on the newly concreted landing pad when the surface partially sank. The situation was brought under control without any harm to the President or her team. Officials manually pushed the aircraft away from the sunken section of the pad to prevent further risk.
President Murmu’s visit to Kerala began on October 21 and is set to continue until October 24. She arrived at Thiruvananthapuram Airport on Tuesday, where she was received with full ceremonial honors. The welcoming delegation included Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, George Kurian, as confirmed on the President’s official social media account.