Plane with Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong turns back to New Delhi due to ferocious weather

A plane carrying Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Udaipur, India was forced to turn back to New Delhi due to unexpected bad weather condition.

"Sometimes, Mother Nature has her own plans. We were just 10 minutes away from Udaipur when bad weather and poor visibility forced our plane to turn back to New Delhi," he said in his Facebook posting.

"Waiting at Delhi airport now, hoping the weather clears and we can find our way to Udaipur (again). Stay posted for updates," he wrote.

His posting was accompanied with a video of the bad weather he encountered during his aborted landing in Udaipur.

Lee is making a working visit to India for five days from Oct 3. He was in New Delhi for the first three days and in Udaipur from today, till Oct 6.

Accompanying Lee on his trip are wife, Ho Ching, Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Senior Minister of State for Defence Ong Ye Kung, as well as Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Osman.

Also in the delegation are MPs Denise Phua and Vikram Nair, and officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education.

At press time, there has been an outpouring of wishes in the prime minister's Facebook's page, wishing him and the entourage a safe journey back home.

After three hours of delay, Lee safely landed at Udaipur, a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

"Landed to a warm welcome at Udaipur! My thanks to the pilots and crew who flew us safely here," he just updated his posting with a photo of welcoming dance. -- BERNAMA