When Devendra Fadnavis' chopper crashed in Latur, only Irfan Shaikh was there to help him

Latur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had a close shave when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district.

According to a report in news agency IANS, the first person to rush to the rescue was small-time scrap dealer Irfan Shaikh, who shouted: "Our king (CM) is trapped in the chopper".

While Shaikh ran towards the chopper to rescue those who were trapped inside, some others nearby ran away from the aircraft, fearing it might explode.

The chopper came hurtling down from a height of around 80 feet in a thick cloud of dust, accompanied by some flashes of light and a loud booming sound.

Paying no heed to the risk, Shaikh ran towards the chopper to see how he could help the people stuck inside.

"The copter door was jammed and could not be opened... I pushed it but it didn't budge... The Chief Minister then responded by pushing it from inside... Then I managed to force it open from outside... I offered my hand to the CM and helped him step down," Shaikh told Lokmat Group.

A shaken Fadnavis told Shaikh that he was "fit and ok", and asked him to help the pilots and others on board the chopper even as he walked a few steps away.

Officials of the Chief Minister's Office in Mumbai confirmed the developments on Friday but declined to say whether Fadnavis would felicitate or honour the scrap dealer for rushing to assist them at a critical time, as the chopper could have exploded.

Later, Fadnavis told people that it was the "blessings of the 12-crore people of Maharashtra and Jai Bhavani" which helped him and five others survive the crash.

As Shaikh helped the other occupants out, police jeeps, private vehicles and security personnel along with ambulances sped to the crash site and joined the rescue operations.

Fadnavis subsequently left in an ambulance for the home of Latur Guardian Minister Sambhajirao Patil-Nilangekar before returning to Mumbai later in the day.

Speaking to IANS today, Shaikh said when Chief Minister Fadnavis took off in the copter, he like many others, dropped everything to view the take-off and try and catch a glimpse of "the king (CM)".

"When it crashed down, my only thought was how to help those trapped inside to come out safely," Shaikh said.

Later, he followed the Chief Minster`s convoy to the minister`s house but the security officials refused to allow him inside, so he quietly returned to his shop for work as usual.

Celebrating Fadnavis` miraculous escape, Mumbai`s Dabbawallas today acknowledged and congratulated Shaikh for rushing to help the Chief Minister without caring for his own life.

The crash-landing occurred soon after the chopper with six persons on board, including three CMO officials and two crew, took off at around 12 noon from Nilanga, around 45 km from Latur, for Mumbai.

The state government's six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the Civil Aviation Ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

(With Agency inputs)