Nearly 50 yrs later, book chronicles Morarji Desai’s narrow escape from air crash in Assam

New Delhi, Jan. 13: A new book offers readers a vivid account of the time when former Prime Minister Morarji Desai narrowly escaped an air crash at Tekelagaon village in the Jorhat district of Assam.

The book highlights the events that transpired on that ill-fated day of November 1977, nearly five decades after the incident.

The Odyssey of an Indian Journalist, written by the late veteran journalist NVR Swami, who was a special correspondent of a national newswire accompanying Desai on his North East tour, unveils the harrowing details of the tragedy he witnessed first-hand.

His initial excitement of covering the Prime Minister on his official trip did not last long, Swami wrote, as he led readers through the chilling experience of the crash landing of 'Pushpak', a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-124, on a remote paddy field, where the cockpit was severed from the rest of the plane.

"As we waited for the touchdown, the aircraft picked up sudden height and the distant lights receded and disappeared. Suddenly there was a heavy, sharp and shaky bump. The plane wobbled heavily.

"The VVIP aircraft breezed past the airport. We were off the runway. We were far far away. A huge roar came from the rear exit, 'The plane has crashed. Move out. Get out," he wrote, recounting the crash landing of the plane that had departed from Palam, Delhi, on the evening of November 4, en route to Jorhat, Assam.

The 81-year-old Prime Minister was quickly pulled from the wreckage and taken to the far side of the marsh.

"Suddenly, a loud roar filled the dark sky. 'Where is the Prime Minister?' I looked back. I was not far from the plane. There was a small fire where the aircraft had crashed and lay on its belly. The indomitable John Lobo, a joint director of the Intelligence Bureau, who was chief security officer of the PM, and Madan Lal Jaidka, his personal security officer, had brought the Prime Minister down from the plane," Swami recalled in the book.

Throughout the ordeal, the PM, who was later taken to a nearby house for safety, remained "calm and unshaken".

"He kept saying, 'I am okay. I am okay.' Even in such a condition, he continued to tell his officers, 'Take care of the injured," the author said.

Besides the former Prime Minister, former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister PK Thungon, former Intelligence Bureau chief John Lobo, Desai's son Kantilal, and renowned social worker Narayan Desai were also on board the flight all of them survived the crash.

Kantilal, who was groaning in pain because his legs were crushed, was helped out of the wreckage by Lobo. Narayan Desai had multiple fractures and could not stand. The book notes that there was no doctor with the entourage.

Explaining the accident, Swami recalled that the air-craft missed the intended landing strip, and as it attempted a second approach, it struck a hidden tall tree that tore off parts of its undercarriage on the left side.

"A wing and the cockpit were sheared off, and the crew in the cockpit fell to their death. The limping aircraft then waded through a cultivated bamboo shrub, which checked its speed and landed us in the paddy field," he wrote.

Two pilots and three crew members died in the crash.

From the political corridors of Delhi to Africa's expansive landscapes, where Swami worked as the national newswire's correspondent for almost two decades, The Odyssey of an Indian Journalist takes readers through his journey of reporting on historic events and engaging with influential leaders.

- With inputs from news agencies