Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat’s chopper crashes, 14 on board
Five bodies found, some taken to hospital; search on for the others.
An army chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 13 others crashed today in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said. The crash was reported at around 12.20 pm. So far, five bodies have been found and some have been taken to the hospital with severe burn injuries, it was reported by NDTV. Further details are awaited. Search for the remaining are on.
Among the crew was General Bipin Rawat’s wife, his Defence Assistant, security commandos and Indian Air Force personnel. General Rawat had taken a flight from Delhi to Sulur earlier today and that flight had none people, NDTV reported.
The IAF Mi-17V5 met with the accident near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An inquiry is on to find out the reasons for the crash. The crash took place shortly after the chopper left the army base in Sulur of Coimbatore. It was on its way to the Defence Staff Services College in Wellington in the Nilgiris. Villagers from a nearby village informed the district administration. Visuals show wreckage of the chopper and people trying to douse the flames with buckets of water. The area is steep and the injured or the deceased were seen being carried by the locals.
General Bipin Rawat, 63, took charge as the country’s first CDS in January 2019 – a position set up to intergrate the three services – Army, Navy and Air Force. He was also appointed head of the newly formed Department of Military Affairs.
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