(Image source from: Indian politicians who died in accidents})
Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde passed away on Tuesday morning after a tragic road accident in New Delhi. Munde, 64, was in his Maruti SX4 traveling towards the airport when his car was hit by a Tata Indica. The senior BJP leader suffered ruptures to his liver, resulting in a cardiac arrest that led to his death, according to reports.
Gopinath Munde is not the first politician to die in a road accident. There were other senior politicians who have lost their lives in tragic accidents.
Here is a list of Indian politicians who met a tragic end.
Dorjee Khandu
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu died in a helicopter crash on April 30, 2011. Khandu and four other people flying from Tawang to Itanagar were killed when the helicopter crashed in a dense forested area.
The helicopter reportedly lost contact 20 minutes after take off. It was around the Sela Pass 13,000 feet above sea level when the tragic accident took place. Bad weather and difficult terrain was sighted to be the reason for the crash.
Y S Rajasekhara Reddy
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy also died in a tragic helicopter crash on September 3, 2009. The Bell 430 helicopter carrying the CM, crashed in a dense forest on its way to a village in Chitoor district.
The former CM was flying with two of his officials and two pilots. The helicopter, which took off at 8.35am, went missing in the Nalamalla forests when it was pouring rain. All radio contacts with the then CM was lost after 9.27am. YSR's body was recovered 27 hours later from the site of the helicopter crash.
G M C Balayogi
Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam Party leader G M C Balayogi was killed in a helicopter crash on March 3, 2002. He was travelling in a private helicopter that crashed while making an emergency landing at Kovvadalanka village, located in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
The Bell 206 helicopter crashed due to poor visibility. The pilot landed the helicopter in a pond thinking it to be land, resulting in a crash. Balayogi, his assistant secretary Sathi Raju and pilot G V Menon also died in the tragic crash.
Madhavrao Scindia
Senior Congress leader and former Union cabinet minister Madhavrao Scindia met a tragic end when his Cessna aircraft crashed on September 30, 2001. He was flying from Delhi to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to address a rally in a 10-seater C-90.
The private plane crashed 172 km from Kanpur, at the outskirts of Manipuri district. Madhavrao Scindia and six other people travelling with him were also killed in the plane crash. According to reports bad weather, along with a possible cloudburst were sighted to be the reason for the fatal crash.
Sanjay Gandhi
Former prime minister Indira Gandhi's younger son Sanjay Gandhi died in a crashon on June 23, 1980. The glider he was flying took off from Safdarjung airport in Delhi and crashed soon after.
(AW: Pratima Tigga)
