'Take care of my daughter. She is unwell,' U'khand crashed chopper’s pilot's last words to wife
Mumbai(PTI): Take care of my daughter. She is unwell, were the last words of helicopter pilot Anil Singh when he spoke to his wife a day before he was killed along with six pilgrims when his chopper crashed into a hill in Uttarakhand on Tuesday due to poor visibility.
Singh (57) was living in a posh housing society in the Andheri suburb of the metropolis and is survived by his wife Shireen Anandita and daughter Firoza Singh.
The ill-fated six-seater chopper -- Bell 407 (VT-RPN) -- operated by the city-based Aryan Aviation -- was ferrying pilgrims from Kedarnath temple to Guptkashi when it crashed into a hill due to poor visibility, bursting into flames at around 11.45 am at Dev Darshini in Garud Chatti, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh said.
Anandita said she and her daughter will be leaving for New Delhi to perform the last rites of her husband.
His last call to us was yesterday (Monday). My daughter is not keeping well. He told me to take care of her, Anandita, who is a film writer, told PTI over phone.
Originally a resident of East Delhi's Shahadra locality, Singh was living in Mumbai for the last 15 years.
Earlier in the day, an official from the Uttarakhand police confirmed that the pilot killed in the crash, Singh, hailed from Mumbai.
Anandita, however, said she had no complaint against any one as an accident is an accident. Moreover, the hill state always experiences inclement weather, she said.
Teams of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and aviation regulator DGCA will be probing the helicopter crash, according to a senior official.
Aryan Aviation had come under the regulatory scanner and was fined Rs 5 lakh recently by the irectorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for certain violations. This was the only 6-seater helicopter in the company's fleet of five choppers, according to the DGCA website.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Social media campaigns, flexboards won't decide who will be Kerala CM: Chennithala
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, a CM hopeful, on Wednesday said that social media campaigns and putting up of flexboards wiill not be the deciding factors for selecting the chief minister of Kerala.
Chennithala made the remark in response to reporters queries in Delhi on the intense social media campaign in favour of V D Satheesan as CM on the ground that he led the UDF poll campaign from the front.
"Who should be CM is not decided based on social media campaigns or the flexboards put up by the supporters. It is decided by the high command in accordance with the procedure already in place.
"As part of that two party observers will reach Kerala by evening and they will speak to all the MLAs. After that, the party high command will take a decision," the senior Congress leader said.
He said that the high command will take the decision based on party interests and everyone will accept it.
Chennithala also rejected queries about whether the alleged contest within the party for the CM post will create any displeasure among the voters.
"There will be no displeasure among voters as there is no contest," he contended.
On whether there was a delay in announcing the CM for Kerala, Chennithala said that the chief minister has not been selected in the other state where polls were held.
"So, can it be said that there is a delay in the case of Kerala?" he asked.
He said that he was in Delhi for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi regarding finalisation of the DCC presidents in Maharashtra.
