Jet carrying richest Chinese tycoon Wang makes emergency landing in Tripura

China’s richest man Wang Jianlin had a close shave when a technical glitch forced a jet carrying him to make an emergency landing at Agartala airport in India’s Tripura.

Gulfstream G650 jet flies at more than 92 percent of the speed of sound with fly-by-wire precision, according to its makers Gulfstream G650 jet flies at more than 92 percent of the speed of sound with fly-by-wire precision, according to its makers

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Wang Jianlin (L) in this photo taken from Twitter feed of @PMOIndia Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Wang Jianlin (L) in this photo taken from Twitter feed of @PMOIndia

Chinese jet makes emergency landing in Agartala

The jet was on its way to Beijing from New Delhi after a top business delegation met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a flight member said.

West Tripura’s District Magistrate Milind Ramteke said the aircraft made the emergency landing around 11:30am on Thursday following engine problem.

“It was carrying a four-member business delegation led by Wang, Chairman of Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd,” he said.

The aircraft was grounded for the night and is expected to resume journey on Friday after clearance from the external affairs ministry, Ramteke added.

Modi had urged the Chinese business community to invest in India during last month’s visit there.

Wang, who recently surpassed Alibaba founder Jack Ma to become the richest Chinese, led a top business delegation to meet Modi.

Modi held a meeting with Wang at his office in New Delhi on June 9.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Wang Jianlin (L) in this photo taken from Twitter feed of @PMOIndia

Wang is the first Chinese business leader to embark on an official visit to India.

Lowis Liu, part of the delegation, told bdnews24.com: “We are the first Chinese entrepreneurs coming to visit India after his (Modi) China visit.”

He said they arrived on Monday and had also met several heads of state government as well as their “business partners in India” on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We left this morning for Beijing but two hours after takeoff our plane engine had some problem,” Lowis said. “We landed here because of an emergency.”

The business delegation was returning in a Gulfstream G650 jet of Beijing Capital Airlines.

According to Gulfstream website, the jet flies at more than 92 percent of the speed of sound for thousands of miles with fly-by-wire precision.

It is unclear what caused the engine problem.

“We are very fortunate that the domestic airport responded to our call and allowed us to land here,” Lowis said thanking the “local government, police and the people”.

The Chinese team is staying in a Tripura hotel.

Dalian Wanda Group, founded in 1988, operates in four major areas - commercial property, luxury hotels, culture and tourism, and department stores.

The company’s assets totalled $85.6 billion and annual income reached $38.8 billion in 2014, according to its website.

It is reportedly planning to develop the Industrial townships in India with built-in facilities such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls, entertainment and recreational centre.