Bangalore: Two powerful ministers of Karnataka, G.Janardhana Reddy (Tourism) and B. Sriramulu (Health) had a shattering experience on Monday at Begumpet airport in Andhra, when their special aircraft crashed shortly before take off. It was a providential escape fro them.
While Reddy continued his journey to New Delhi to annual Tourism awards from the Center’s Tourism Department, Sriramulu dropped out of the trip. Reddy went in a regular civilian aircraft, airport sources said.
The tyres of flight had burst and the special plane had caught fire when it was about to take-off from Begumpet. Firefighters rushing to the tarmac, put out the fire in the small plane, to rescue the pilot and two bewildered ministers.
The two colleagues had left home town Bellary on a helicopter to Hyderabad (Pearl City) and were about to take the chartered small plane flight, official sources informed. They lived to tell the story.