KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sustained injuries after her chopper made an emergency landing at the Sevoke airbase near Siliguri in north Bengal due to rough weather on Tuesday afternoon.
Mamata was taken to the SSKM Hospital for a medical check-up and sources in the healthcare unit said she received minor injuries on her waist and leg.
Mamata’s chopper took off from the makeshift helipad at the Kranti Maidan in Jalpaiguri district around 12.50 pm, a day after she had attended a campaign ahead of the panchayat elections scheduled to be held on July 8. Her 13-minute flight from Jalpaiguri was supposed to reach Bagdogra airport from where she was to take a return flight to Kolkata.
“It was drizzling when the chopper took off from Jalpaiguri. When the chopper was somewhere around the Baikunthapur forest, it met with a thunderstorm. The pilot had to change the scheduled route and landed safely at the airbase. None of the passengers in the chopper was hurt in the emergency landing. The CM received minor injuries while disembarking from the chopper,” said a government official.
Mamata was taken to Woodburn Block at SSKM in Kolkata where Biman Banerjee, Speaker of the state Assembly, B.P. Gopalika, the home secretary, Narayan Swarup Nigam, the health secretary and Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal were present.
Mamata refused the wheelchair that was kept ready but took the support of a senior doctor to walk. The chief minister was seen uncomfortable and limping on her left foot after getting down from the car.