General Bipin Rawat dead in chopper crashes in TN
An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
14 people were on board. Reports at this time says 5 people died, 4 are severely injured. No updates on General Rawat yet.
The injured are kept in military hospital at the Wellingdon base. Details about the rest who onboarded are not disclosed so far.
The chopper was heading to Defence services staff college in Ooty and met with an accident today near Coonoor, TN
Around 12.20 p.m., the crash was reported. Villagers in nearby Katteri informed the defence establishment of the occurrence.
Senior officials including the Nilgiri District Collector and medical teams from Ooty have been sent to the forested areas of the crash site
The bodies recovered by far have been severely burned, making identification difficult according to former army chief General JJ Singh
Indian airforce tweeted about the incident and said an Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident
General Rawat is India's chief of defence staff as well as head of the Department of Military Affairs.