Coimbatore: After hours of uncertainty, the Indian Air Force informed that Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others were killed in a military chopper crash at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
There were 14 passengers on board the chopper. The mishap had happened on Wednesday morning reportedly due to low visibility in foggy conditions.
Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC, who was injured in the crash is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.
The others who died in the crash are Brig LS Lidder, Lt Col H Singh, Wg Cdr PS Chauhan, Sqn Ldr K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Hav Satpal, Nk Gursewak Singh, Nk Jitender, L/Nk Vivek and L/Nk S Teja.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting at his residence. He had been briefed about the crash by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who later visited General Rawat's family in Delhi.
Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari had been instructed to fly to the crash site.
The IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident, involving a Mi-17VH chopper that took from the Sulur IAF Station in nearby Coimbatore.
Gen Bipin Rawat was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course.
The helicopter was on its way from Sulur in Coimbatore to DSC in Wellington.
The chopper crashed in a forest area, reportedly due to poor visibility following heavy fog, official sources said.
India has dozens of Russian-made military choppers that are widely used by the military as well as top government ministers visiting defence locations. "This is a safe, proven helicopter, I have travelled on it in difficult situations," former army chief J J Singh said.
Video footage from Reuters partner ANI and local media showed rescue workers dousing steaming wreckage of the mangled chopper in a wooded area.
Along with General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier L S Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Naik Vivek Kumar, Naik B Sai Teja, Havaldar Satpal and pilots were travelling in the chopper.
TV visuals showed the chopper in flames, apparently under the impact of the crash.
Rescue personnel, along with Army personnel, were seen involved in clearing the area.
Rawat was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in late 2019. The position was set-up to integrate India's three services – the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
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