A helicopter in which business tycoon and Lulu Group head M A Yusuff Ali was travelling had to make an emergency landing in Kochi on Sunday morning. Five persons including Yusuf Ali, his wife and the pilot, were aboard. All were reported unhurt.
The incident took place at Panangad in the suburbs of Kochi city at around 9.30 am. The private helicopter made the crash landing at a marshy land.
A group of local people who witnessed the emergency landing and assisted the rescue said that it was drizzling at the time of the incident. The pilot first came out of the helicopter and took Yusuff Ali and his wife out of the helicopter and took them to nearby private hospital.
Kochi city police commissioner H Nagaraju told DH that according to preliminary information, the helicopter was supposed to land in a nearby school ground. Yusuff Ali was flying from his house in Kochi to a hospital in the city. Owing to visibility issues due to mist, the pilot was forced to make land the chopper at the nearby marshy land. All passengers were safe. DGCA officials will be inspecting the spot.
Yusuff Ali heads various business establishments across the world, including the Lulu group.