Indian helicopter makes emergency landing on rooftop

The helicopter surrounded by police and emergency personnel, Bangalore - 12 April 2012 There was no open space on the ground for the pilots to land

A helicopter has made an emergency landing on the roof of an apartment building in a busy residential area of the Indian city of Bangalore.

Reports say the helicopter was on a routine training flight when its engine failed, forcing the aircraft down.

The five-storey building was evacuated with no injuries reported and both the pilot and co-pilot are safe, an official said.

With its rotor damaged, officials are looking at how to move the helicopter.

The helicopter belongs to the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hal) and was flying out of a nearby airport.

Residents said they heard a loud noise when the helicopter began its descent and everyone gathered on rooftops to watch.

Without a clear space on the ground to land, the pilots opted to land on the roof of the Maitree Apartments building, Hal chief test pilot Wing Commander Unni Pillai told the TV channel Times Now.

The pilots have been taken to a hospital for a check-up.

"The helicopter has sustained minor damages to its rotor blades," a police officer said.

Officials say the helicopter will either have to be dismantled or airlifted.

The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has reportedly ordered an investigation and a team is on its way to the site.

More on This Story

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites

More India stories

RSS

Features & Analysis

Elsewhere on the BBC

  • Green city A leaf from nature's book

    Cities rely on systems which pollute our world, but that will all change in the future, writes Rachel Armstrong

Programmes

  • A graphic of a person and the Earth respresenting the world wide webClick Watch

    David Reid visits Cern to find out more about the plans to restore the world's first web page

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.