- President Murmu’s chopper stuck briefly during Pathanamthitta visit
- Helipad at Pramadam created overnight after last-minute location change
Pathanamthitta: The helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu for her Sabarimala visit faced a minor issue during landing on Wednesday morning when its wheels sank into a recently concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam. The incident occurred moments after the chopper touched down at the temporary landing site.
Officials said the problem arose because the concrete surface had not fully set before the helicopter’s arrival. After the President left for Pamba by road, visuals aired on television showed police and fire force personnel pushing the helicopter’s wheels out of the small depressions left by its weight. The aircraft was later stabilized without any apparent damage or safety concern.
A senior police officer from the district explained that the helipad had been prepared at short notice. “The stadium was fixed as the location for landing the helicopter at the last moment and therefore, the helipad was created there late on Tuesday,” the officer said. He added that the concrete had not cured completely, which caused the depressions when the chopper landed.
Originally, the landing was scheduled to take place at Nilackal, near Pamba. However, due to bad weather conditions, the site was shifted to Pramadam late on Tuesday. The new helipad was arranged overnight to ensure the President’s itinerary remained unchanged.
President Droupadi Murmu, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for a four-day official visit to Kerala, continued her journey towards the Pathanamthitta district as planned. From Pramadam, she proceeded by road to Pamba, the foothills of the Sabarimala shrine.
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