Close shave for two Karnataka ministers

Karnataka tourism minister and mining magnet G Janardhana Reddy and health minister B Sreeramulu had a close shave on Monday when the private chartered aircraft by which they were flying suffered a tyre burst at Hyderabad airport.

Both the ministers, accompanied by some officials, had left here for Hyderabad enroute to Delhi this morning and had a brief stop over for refuelling at Hyderabad airport, sources close to them told PTI.

However, one of the tyres of the aircraft burst during take-off, following which all those on-board were evacuated safely, the sources said.

While Reddy left for Delhi by another aircraft, Sreeramulu decided against travelling after the incident, they said.

Reddy and Sreeramulu were travelling to Delhi to receive an award that the state's Tourism Department had won, the sources said.