Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament on the helicopter crash in which 13 people including Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat were killed. Air Chief Marshal VR Choudhary is the Chief of the Air Staff at the crash site.
Here is a 10-point summary of the helicopter crash:
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The helicopter crashed soon after taking off from the Air Force Base at Sulur, Coimbatore at 11.45 am. It was on the way to Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills where General Rawat was to address a gathering at the Defense Services Staff College.
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The Mi-17 V5 helicopter was taking off and could land in 10 minutes when it came down, barely 10 km off the road. The Air Force has now ordered an inquiry into the incident.
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The only survivor of the accident is Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, who is being treated for serious burns. Group Captain Singh had gone from Wellington to Sulur to receive General Rawat.
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Video from the crash site showed debris scattered on a hillside and rescuers struggling to locate bodies from smoke and fire. Burnt bodies were pulled out from under damaged metal and fallen trees.
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Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, briefed by the Defense Minister, called a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence.
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There is an influx of people paying tribute to the general from the country and abroad. The Prime Minister described him as an “excellent soldier” and a “true patriot”. The Defense Minister called it an “irreparable loss” to the country and the army.
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The last rites of General Rawat and his wife will be held tomorrow. Their bodies are expected to reach Delhi by a military plane this evening.
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63-year-old General Rawat took charge as India’s first Chief of Defense Staff in January 2020. The post was created to integrate the Army, Navy and Air Force. A former army chief, he was also appointed head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs.
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The general joined the army in 1978 as a second lieutenant and had four decades of service behind him, commanding the army in Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Actual Control bordering China.
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Other defense personnel killed in the accident included Brigadier LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar. Were. and Lance Naik Sai Teja.
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