The private jet of a Chinese realty baron and one of Asia’s richest business tycoons with eight other people on board made emergency landing in Agartala airport after experiencing “technical snag” in its engines.
The flight carrying head of the multi-billion dollar Dalian Wanda group, Wang Jianlin, and a team of businessmen and crew not only left the Tripura government in a tizzy, but as the news spread, strong rumours of a foreign airstrike started doing the rounds.
Wang was on his way back to Beijing after completing his business visit to India, during which he announced plans to invest $5 billion in developing industrial townships in the country.
He was on a four-day visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Gulfstream G650 jet of Beijing Capital Airlines, which was on its way back from New Delhi to Beijing with a delegation of four businessmen and five crew members, landed here at 11:30 am on Thursday,” said Milind Ramteke, West Tripura District Magistrate.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) sources said that at about 10:30 am on Thursday, the aircraft, which was flying in Bangladesh airspace at that time, contacted the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) at Agartala airport declaring an emergency owing to engine technical warnings.
The ATC followed the protocol and gave permission to enter Indian airspace and cleared it for landing at Agartala airport. All emergency facilities were extended to the aircraft.
While the businessmen were shifted to a city hotel, the crew were shifted to the same hotel after a proper briefing was taken from them at the airport, sources added.