TN: Locals shower flower petals at ambulance carrying mortal remains of CDS Rawat, 12 others killed in Coonoor chopper crash
Dec 09, 2021
Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 9 : Local people on Thursday showered flower petals as ambulances carrying the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 defence personnel who died in the Coonoor helicopter crash, left for Sulur airbase from Madras Regimental Centre in Nilgiris district.
The mortal remains of those killed in the military chopper crash on Wednesday were brought to Madras Regimental Centre today from Military Hospital, Wellington in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
A total of 14 people were on board the IAF's helicopter. Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone survivor of the crash and is presently on life support in Military Hospital, Wellington.
Those who died in the crash include General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew.
Their names are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja.
General Rawat was travelling from Sulur to Wellington when his helicopter crashed near Coonoor. General Rawat, India's first CDS, was on a visit to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course when his chopper crashed.
The Indian Air Force has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
General Rawat was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019.
He previously served as Chief of the Army Staff from January 2017 to December 2019. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978.
