President's helicopter wheels sink into newly concreted landing pad

The wheels of the helicopter which carried President Droupadi Murmu for her Sabarimala visit got stuck in a depression in the newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Pramadam in Pathnamthitta when it landed on Wednesday morning. A senior police officer of the district said that the stadium was fixed as the location for landing the helicopter at the last moment and therefore, the helipad was created there late on Tuesday.

#WATCH | Kerala: A portion of the helipad tarmac sank in after a chopper carrying President Droupdi Murmu landed at Pramadam Stadium. Police and fire department personnel deployed at the spot physically pushed the helicopter out of the sunken spot. pic.twitter.com/QDmf28PqIb

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2025

The landing was originally planned at Nilackal near Pamba, but it was changed to Pramadam due to inclement weather. "The concrete had not set completely and therefore, it could not handle the helicopter's weight when it landed and depressions were formed where the wheels touched the ground," the officer said. The President, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for a four-day official visit to the southern state, left for Pathanamthitta district and had darshan Wednesday morning.