CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, 11 others killed in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other personnel died after the Indian Air Force chopper they were travelling in crashed near Coonor near Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiri hill district. While an investigation has been ordered, the government is likely to make a statement in Parliament on Thursday on the crash of the Mi-17V5 helicopter. The aircraft was on its way from Sulur IAF base in Coimbatore to Defence Staff College in Wellington
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat have been killed along with 12 others when the Army chopper they were flying in crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the IAF confirmed on Wednesday.
The tragic incident happened when the chopper was heading for Wellington from Sulur.
The IAF has issued a list of names of General Rawat’s staff on board the crashed chopper. They include Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Havaldar Satpal.
Group Captain Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC, who was also on board, is currently undergoing treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington, said the IAF.
The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
TN Forest Minister K Ramachandran told The New Indian Express that the accident took place because of thick mist engulfing the area.
Fire Service personnel and local people helped in the rescue operations which was a difficult one as the site of the accident is narrow and didn’t allow for movement in large numbers, Ramachandran said.
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