CDS General Bipin Rawat: An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on board crashed on Wednesday in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. In this incident, five people have been confirmed dead. There is no immediate information on General Bipin Rawat’s condition.
Two people with severe burn injuries have been rescued so far while a search is going on for the others. As per the sources, there were fourteen people on board. The two injured people have been admitted to the hospital at Wellington Cantonment, Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu.
ANI news agency reported that the CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife, defence assistant, security commandos and an IAF pilot were on board the Mi-Series chopper. According to the sources, CDS Bipin Rawat was on his way to Defence Staff College in Wellington from the INAF base, Sulur. Earlier on Wednesday, he left Delhi for Sulur.
Visuals from the site of the IAF helicopter crash showed huge flames and locals are helping with the immediate rescue operations. ANI news agency reported that the bodies were seen downhill. Several teams reached the site for search and rescue operations.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the crash incident on Twitter and also said that an enquiry has been ordered to find the root cause of this incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have been briefed on this incident. Rajnath Singh will brief the crash in parliament shortly.