ERODE: Bad weather forced emergency landing of the helicopter carrying Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and five others, including the pilot, in a village near Sathyamangalam on Wednesday morning.
Police said Sri Sri was on his way to Kangeyam in Tiruppur district by a private helicopter from Bengaluru. Around 9.50 am, the helicopter was flying over the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) forest, when inclement weather forced the pilot to land in the play ground of a government primary school at Ukkiniyam village near Kadambur.
Shocked and surprised, a large crowd gathered around the chopper, and Sri Sri interacted with a few members of the public. The school functioned normally and students were not allowed to get close to the helicopter. “The team explained the reasons for the landing to school authorities and they did not lodge any complaint,” police said. The chopper took off around 11 am after the weather improved.