Arjun Munda recovering in hospital after chopper crash

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda was recovering well but continued to be in hospital, his aides said on Thursday, a day after he survived a helicopter crash landing with multiple injuries.

"Munda in his message to people of the state has said he is well," the Chief Minister's political advisor Ayodhyanath Mishra told reporters.

The Chief Minister, he said, had met some people in the morning at the Apollo Hospital.

The condition of Munda's wife Meera, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Barkuwar Gagrai and others who were travelling with him, including security officer Manoj Singh and pilot B.K. Singh, was stable and they were recovering at the hospital.

Munda suffered a right ankle fracture and minor injuries in his spine and waist. Hospital sources said he might have to stay on for a few days in the hospital for treatment.

Munda was on his way to Saraikela Kharsawa district to participate in a programme when the helicopter developed a technical snag and returned to Ranchi. The chopper crash landed from a height of about 25 feet in the airport area and toppled over, injuring its occupants.

A two-member team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) arrived in Ranchi on Wednesday evening. The team inspected the crashed chopper and met the pilots in the hospital.

The Aryanan Aviation chopper Augusta 009 was said to be 20 years old. In April, the chopper carrying Munda had to make an emergency landing in Jamshedpur after it developed a snag.