K'taka Cong President Shivakumar's chopper hit by vulture

Kolar, May 2:  A chopper, in which Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar was flying, made an emergency landing after it was hit by a vulture in the sky on Tuesday in Kolar district of Karnataka.

Sources said that a major tragedy was averted and the pilot managed to land the chopper safely.

The incident happened when Shivakumar was travelling to Mulubagal from HAL airport in Bengaluru. While Shivakumar's chopper was in the air, it was hit by the vulture.

Due to the impact, the front glass of the helicopter was damaged and broken. After the incident, Shivakumar returned to Bengaluru.

On April 6, the landing of the chopper carrying former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa was aborted as littered plastic bags came flying near the helipad on the outskirts of Jewargi town of Kalaburagi district.

Yediyurappa had arrived in the town to participate in Vijay Sankalp yatra. The temporary helipad was constructed in the town to facilitate the movement of leaders. But, as the authorities had not ensured its maintenance and not followed protocols, plastic bags in the region came flying at the time of landing of the chopper. The pilot aborted landing and kept hovering in the air until the authorities got the helipad area filled with plastic sheets and waste cleaned.