President Droupadi Murmu's helicopter sinks into newly constructed landing pad in Kerala

The wheels of helicopter which carried President Droupadi Murmu to Sabarimala got stuck in a depression in the newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Pramadam when it landed in Kerala's Pathanamthitta on Wednesday.

The president left for Pamba by road, while visuals showed several policemen and fire force personnel pushing the helicopter's wheels out of the small depressions created when it landed on the concrete.



A senior police officer said that the stadium was booked for landing the helicopter at the last moment and therefore, the helipad was created late on Tuesday.

The landing was originally planned at Nilackal near Pamba, but was changed to Pramadam due to inclement weather.

"The concrete had not set completely and therefore, it could not handle the helicopter's weight when it landed and depressions were formed where the wheels touched the ground," the officer said.

The President, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for a four-day official visit to Kerala, left for Pathanamthitta district, where the hill shrine is located, this morning. From Pramadam, Murmu is travelling to Pamba, the foothills of Sabarimala, via road.