CDS General Bipin Rawat, wife, among 13 dead in chopper crash: IAF

Chief of Defence Staff CDS General Bipin Rawat his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other people on board died after an an Indian Air force helicopter crashed in Tamil Nadus Coonoor on Wednesday the Indian Air Force IAF confirmed The other victims all from the armed forces were identified as Brigadier LS Lidder Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh Wing Commander PS Chauhan Squadron Leader K Singh Naik Gursewak Singh Naik Jitender Kumar Lance Naik Vivek Lance Naik B S Teja Havaldar Satpal JWO Das and JWO Pradeep according to official sourcesWith deep regret it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accidentmdash Indian Air Force IAF_MCC December 8 2021The Mi17V5 helicopter carrying Gen Rawat the 63yearold triservices chief who would have completed two years at the end of this month in the new post after serving as the Army chief crashed killing 13 of the 14 people on board including his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel the officials said The lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh Directing Staff at DSSC is currently under treatment at a military hospital in nearby Wellington the IAF saidNews agency ANI citing sources also posted on Twitter that Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the Mi17V5 He is the Commanding Officer of the 109 Helicopter Unit added the tweetWing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was pilot of the Mi17V5 which crashed with 14 personnel on board including CDS Gen Bipin Rawat He is the Commanding Officer of the 109 Helicopter Unit Sourcesmdash ANI ANI December 8 2021The helicopter carrying Rawat and others had left Sulur IAF station in nearby Coimbatore around 1148 am and was supposed to land at DSSC in Wellington at Udhagamandalam about 45 minutes later official sources said adding the mishap occurred at 1222 pm The CDS had earlier reached the IAF station from Delhi by an Embraer aircraft at 1134 amLocals at the site where the chopper crashed Pic Pallav PaliwalAn IAF Mi17V5 helicopter with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board met with an accident today near Coonoor Tamil Nadu An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident Indian Air Force pictwittercomAc3f36WlBBmdash ANI ANI December 8 2021LIVE UPDATESThe Centre is likely to issue a statement in Parliament on Thursday on the crash as per The TribuneDefence Minister Rajnath Singh reaches the Delhi residence of CDS Bipin RawatDelhi Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reaches the residence of CDS Bipin Rawat pictwittercom05DismLAq9mdash ANI ANI December 8 2021IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudari is going to crash siteTamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to go to Coimbatore today evening and then move to Nilgiris chopper crashDefence Minister Rajnath Singh is going to address the Parliament on the accident shortlyDefence Minister Rajnath Singh will brief parliament on the crash of an army chopper in Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu The chopper had Chief of Defence Staff BipinRawat his staff and family members on boardFile Pic pictwittercomEumelZG7oRmdash All India Radio News airnewsalerts December 8 2021Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray also tweeted wishing for the safety of CDS General Rawat and his colleaguesPraying for the safety and well being of CDS Bipin Rawat ji and the rest of his colleagues on board with himmdash Aaditya Thackeray AUThackeray December 8 2021Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his concern over the accident and tweeted Hoping for the safety of CDS General Bipin Rawat his wife and others onboard the chopperHoping for the safety of CDS General Bipin Rawat his wife and others onboard the chopper Prayers for speedy recoverymdash Rahul Gandhi RahulGandhi December 8 2021As per a PTI report West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ended an administrative review meeting midway on Monday as soon as she came to know about the incident We have received sad news I am shocked I have no words to express my grief I am ending this meeting she said and left the venue of the meetingGujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani also wished for CDS Bipin Rawats safetyPraying for the safety of CDS General Bipin Rawat and others onboard the chopper that has reportedly crashed in Tamil Nadumdash Jignesh Mevani jigneshmevani80 December 8 2021Bodies recovered from the site of the crash between Coimbatore and Sulur where a military chopper crashed have been taken to Military Hospital Wellington in Tamil NaduBREAKINGIndian Air Force Mi17V5 helicopter with CDS General BipinRawat onboard meets with an accident near Coonoor Tamil Nadu pictwittercomM1rAxkFKuFmdash DD News DDNewslive December 8 2021In this file photo taken on January 15 2018 the then Indian army chief Bipin Rawat inspects the Army Day parade in New Delhi Pic PTIThe local military officers have reached the location and were told that locals have taken two bodies with 80 per cent burns to a local hospital Few bodies can be seen downhill in the area of the accident Efforts are on to retrieve the bodies and check identities reported news agency ANIMiddayNews Visuals from the site where an IAFchopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff CDS General BipinRawat his staff and some family members crashed in Tamil Nadursquos Coonoor Video Pallav PaliwalCoonoorHelicopterAccident HelicopterCrash CDSBipinRawat TamilNadu pictwittercom468hv3mJPNmdash Mid Day mid_day December 8 2021The official Twitter handle of IAF stated that ldquoan Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accidentrdquoAn IAF Mi17V5 helicopter with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board met with an accident today near Coonoor Tamil NaduAn Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accidentmdash Indian Air Force IAF_MCC December 8 2021Troops of 204 CoBRA and police conducted Search and Cordon Operation SCO and apprehended a militia member identified as Venjam Mohan He was handed over to the police said CRPFWATCH Latest visuals from the spot between Coimbatore and Sulur where a military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu CDS Gen Bipin Rawat his staff and some family members were in the chopperVideo Source Locals involved in search and rescue operation pictwittercomYkBVlzsk1Jmdash ANI ANI December 8 202114 people were onboard the military chopper that crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu They included CDS Gen Bipin Rawat his wife Madhulika Rawat Brig LS Lidder Lt Col Harjinder Singh NK Gursewak Singh NK Jitendra Kr LNaik Vivek Kumar LNaik B Sai Teja amp Hav SatpalLatest visuals from the spot between Coimbatore and Sulur where a military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu CDS Bipin Rawat his staff and some family members were in the chopperPics Source Locals involved in search and rescue operation pictwittercommiALr88sm1mdash ANI ANI December 8 2021With agency inputs