M A Yusuff Ali, the richest Malayali in the world, (net worth $4.8 billion) and his wife had a miraculous escape from an air crash on Sunday morning at Kochi. The helicopter ferrying them to a hospital owned by Yusuff Ali made a force landing in the marshy area along the Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram National Highway.
There were five persons in the chopper including the Alis and all were brought out of the sleeky flying machine once the rotors came to a standstill.
The pilot and Ali suffered some minor injuries and were rushed to the Lakeshore Hospital for first-aid. All are safe and hearty, according to sources in the hospital. According to eye witnesses who watched the low flying chopper force landing in the marshy stretch, there was heavy wind and rains when the incident happened.
An enquiry has been ordered into the incident.
Yusuff Ali who owns the Lulu Group business empire is a close friend of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other top CPI(M) leaders in the country. The business tycoon enjoys cordial ties with leaders of all political parties, though the Marxists in the State visit the oil kingdoms in West Asia as the guests of Ali who have built up a vast business empire across the Arab nations in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Yusuff Ali , who owns a fleet of executive jets and helicopters, had been awarded Abu Dhabi Prize, the country’s highest civilian honours, on Friday by crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sayed Al Nahyan.