Heavy rains triggered by a Norwester forced the helicopter carrying Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to make an emergency landing at Jharsuguda airport on Monday.
Chief Minister Office sources said Patnaik was returning to Bhubaneswar from Utkela airstrip in a chopper after addressing an election meeting at Khariar in Western Odisha.
The aircraft could not land at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) due to heavy rains and gusty wind following a norwester.
After hovering over 30 minutes in the sky of Bhubaneswar, the pilot of the aircraft finally decided to divert the aircraft to Jharsuguda to make an emergency landing at the Veer Surendra Sai Airport.
Both Patnaik and BJD leader V K Pandian are safe, the sources said.
The aircraft, BPIA authority said, will land soon in Bhubaneswar as the weather condition in the state capital has improved.
