Kiren Rijiju escapes miraculously as chopper lands after facing bad weather

Itanagar: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday had a miraculous escape when a chopper carrying him had landed in emergency conditions due to bad weather.

The Mi-17 helicopter with Rijiju and seven other passengers and crew was flying from Guwahati to Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh when it faced heavy rains and fog on Tuesday afternoon.

The experienced pilots of the chopper, belonging to the Border Security Force, managed to manoeuvre for around 10 minutes and landed at a small field in Itanagar in an emergency situation.

"I was lucky enough to be landed safely, thanks to the BSF pilots who are very experienced," he said.

The Minister of State for Home said the Itanagar SP came to the spot after hearing the news later while local people came forward immediately to help him and other accompanying people.

Rijiju was travelling to Ziro to attend the local Dree festival there.