CHENNAI: An Indian Air Force helicopter, with India’s CDS General Bipin Rawat and some of his family members on board, crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor on Wednesday.

General Rawat was on his way from the Sulur IAF Station to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in Coonoor when the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter in which he was traveling crashed in a forested area in the Nilgiris district around 12:20 pm.

The fatal crash left 13 people dead.

A total of 14 people were on board the chopper. However, there is still no information on General Bipin Rawat.

Rawat’s wife Madhulika Rawat, his DA Brigadier LS Lidder, his SO Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh were among the 14 people, including five crew members on board the chopper that crashed. The Indian Air Force has issued a list of names of General Rawat’s staff who were also on-board the crashed chopper.

Apart from CDS General Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, L/NK Vivek Kumar, L/NK B Sai Teja, and Hav Satpal are among those on board the aircraft. The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the accident.

Tamil Nadu State forest minister K Ramachandran said that five of the 14 people on board the chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff chief General Bipin Rawat, which crashed near Coonoor in the nearby hilly in the Nilgiris district on Wednesday have been confirmed killed, while two others are critically injured.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Air Force confirmed that General Rawat was on board an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter that met with an accident while going from Sulur to Wellington in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile,  Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday briefed India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the incident of the crash of a military chopper in Tamil Nadu, that was carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 others. Defence Minister also visited CDS Rawat’s residence in the national capital today.
(ANI)