Cong claims Rahul's plane denied permission to land at Varanasi airport;airport official deny charge
Varanasi (PTI): The Congress has claimed that Rahul Gandhi's plane was denied permission to land at the airport here late Monday night, a charge denied by the airport authorities.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Rai on Tuesday alleged that Gandhi's plane was scheduled to land at the Babat airport here on his return from Wayanad in Kerala.
Rai said he and other party leaders were at the airport to receive their leader but his plane was not allowed to land "at the last minute." Gandhi then returned to the national capital.
However, Varanasi airport director Aryama Sanyal told PTI that there was no prior information about Gandhi's arrival.
The director denied allegation that they had refused permission for Gandhi's plane to land.
The air traffic controller was told that the plan to land at the airport has been cancelled, Sanyal said.
The former Congress chief was scheduled to visit Prayagraj for a function at the Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Rai said.
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Death toll in Mundathikode fireworks explosion rises to 16
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): One more person who had been hospitalised following the Mundathikode fireworks explosion died at Thrissur Medical College on Sunday, police said.
With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to 16.
According to Thrissur Medical College police, the deceased has been identified as Unnikrishnan from Edappal, who was among the 38 persons present at the fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode where the explosions occurred on April 21.
Police said Unnikrishnan had suffered over 80 per cent burns and had remained in critical condition.
The condition of the two other injured persons remains critical, police said.
Of the 38 persons present at the site, 16 have died, while four remain missing.
The fireworks were being manufactured for Thiruvambady Devaswom as part of the Thrissur Pooram festivities.
The licensee of the unit had also suffered burn injuries and had died earlier.
