Close shave for Union minister at Mumbai airport

Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay had a close shave at the domestic airport...

Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay had a close shave at the domestic airport here on Monday when the VVIP bus carrying him was rammed by a tractor carrying aviation fuel early in the morning.

The glasspanes of the bus were shattered, but there was no injuries to Sahay. He was on his way to board a Delhi-bound Jetlite flight. A Director General of Civil Aviation (DGC) level inquiry has been set up to probe the matter.

The tanker, ‘buzzer’ in aviation terminology, belonged to the Indian Oil Company (IOC).

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“Within minutes I got into the coach and we began to move towards the aircraft, a heavy oil tanker hit the bus from the left side. We were still within the airport building area and a part of the tanker even broke through the glasspanes of the bus,” Sahay told The Indian Express.

While action against the driver of the tractor will be decided after the probe, Sahay was unhappy about the driver of the Spice Jet bus he was put on after the accident too. “They put me on a Spice Jet bus after the collision and even the driver of that vehicle did not take the normal route and came close to a Kingfisher plane that was crossing the bus horizontally.”

“All I would like to tell Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that the safety and convenience of passengers should not be compromised with all the new construction at the airport,” said Sahay.

The minister boarded Jetlite’s flight S2 108 which was due for departure at 7:30 am from bay 9 of the airport.

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