LAHORE: The helicopter of the Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar narrowly escaped an accident on Tuesday as it was landed safety on the Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.
The accident was caused after a bird strike when CM Buzdar was returning to the provincial capital after paying a visit to Hafizabad.
An airport manager told ARY News that a pigeon hit the surface of the helicopter from front side while flying over the Lahore’s railway station which disbalanced the aircraft with 15 persons on board including CM Buzdar, provincial minister Taimur Bhatti, Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Abbas Shah and 12 others including crew.
The helicopter’s outer surface received damages, however, it was safely landed at Lahore airport after the 10-minute flight by the experienced pilot.
The helicopter was grounded by the authorities.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab chief minister had earlier visited Hafizabad where he inaugurated severe projects including Government Degree College for Women East Side, Rescue 1122 emergency centre in Pindi Bhattian and Police Khidmat Centre.
He had also kicked off plantation campaign in Kolu Tarar, mango farm on 58 canal land which was retrieved by the authorities and ‘Naya Pakistan Manzilein Asan Programme’ for the construction of new roads.
Besides inaugurating the series of projects, the chief minister announced that the provincial government has set a target to plant 9 million trees in 2019 and 500 million trees across Punjab within the next five years.
