Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife were among 13 killed after an IAF chopper they were traveling in crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
“With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that General Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” the Indian Force said in a tweet.
The crash happened at a distance of about 10 km from the helipad where it was to land. Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the incident. According to sources, Singh will brief Parliament on the incident tomorrow.
Sources earlier said that at least three injured people from the crash were taken to a nearby hospital. The crash took place in the Nilgiris, shortly after the Mi-series chopper took off from the army base in Sulur.
(NDTV)
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(Previous News 2021 December 08 ,14:35 pm)
Army helicopter carrying Indian CDS, crashes
An Army helicopter carrying 14 army personnel, including Chief of Defence Staff – Gen. Bipin Rawat, crashed today (08) near Coonoor in the nearby hilly Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu.
Citing police sources, Times of India reports that the chopper was on its way from the Sulur IAF base to the Defence Services College (DSC) at Wellington when it crashed.
Emergency and rescue operation teams are present at the spot.
Two onboard who were found seriously injured had been taken to a hospital.
Identification of the deceased is underway.
(Excerpts : TOI)