IAF chopper crash: Mortal remains of only 3 of 13 deceased identified

Out of the 13 people killed in the IAF helicopter crash near Coonoor the mortal remains of only Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig LS Lidder could be identified officials said on ThursdayThey said the mortal remains of only those identified will be released to the next of kin of those killed in the tragic helicopter crash on WednesdayProcess for positive identification of remaining mortal remains is continuing Mortal remains will be kept at the mortuary of Army Base Hospital till completion of positive identification formalities said an officialThey said appropriate funerals with military tradition of all deceased are being planned and coordinated in close consultation with their family membersBesides Gen Rawat his wife and Brig Lidder 10 armed forces personnel were killed in the Mi17V5 helicopter crash which is one of the biggest air accidents in India in decades involving senior military officersThe other personnel killed in the accident are Lt Col Harjinder Singh Wing Commander PS Chauhan Squadron Leader K Singh JWO Das JWO Pradeep A Havildar Satpal Naik Gursewak Singh Naik Jitender Kumar Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik Sai TejaOfficials said the bodies were charred because of which identification has become difficultAlso read He asked for water says eyewitness who claims he saw CDS Gen Bipin Rawat after crashThey said family members of the deceased are being brought to Delhi to help the authorities in identifying the bodies adding a number of mortal remains are being brought to the national capitalThe lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh is currently undergoing treatment at a military hospital in BengaluruIn a statement in Parliament Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said a triservices enquiry into the incident has been ordered by the Indian Air Force and it will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh Air Officer CommandinginChief of the Training CommandSingh said Gen Rawat was on a scheduled visit to Defence Services Staff College Wellington to interact with the student officersThe Air Force Mi 17V5 helicopter took off from Sulur airbase at 1148 AM yesterday and was expected to land at Wellington by 1215 pm Air Traffic Control at Sulur airbase lost contact with the helicopter at approximately 1208 pm Singh saidSubsequently few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they observed the wreckage of military helicopter engulfed in flames he saidThe defence minister said rescue teams from the local administration in the vicinity reached the site and attempted to recover the survivors from the crash siteAll those recovered from the wreckage were rushed to the military hospital Wellington Latest reports have confirmed that out of the total 14 persons on board the illfated helicopter 13 have succumbed to their injuries he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever