CDS General Bipin Rawat, wife, 11 others dead in helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor
In an unfortunate incident, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died when the helicopter he was travelling in crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday (December 8).
“With 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 accident,” the IAF said in a tweet.
Along with General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Naik Vivek Kumar, Naik B. Sai Teja, Havaldar Satpal and a pilot have died in the tragedy. Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington, the IAF informed.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind has expressed condolences to General Bipin Rawat’s family. “I am shocked and anguished over the untimely demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika ji. The nation has lost one of its bravest sons. His four decades of selfless service to the motherland was marked by exceptional gallantry and heroism. My condolences to his family,” a tweet from the official handle of the President of India read.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to microblogging website Twitter over the demise of CDS. “I am deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces. They served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families,” he tweeted.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also took to Twitter to express condolences over his demise.
“Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country,” he tweeted.
The CDS was on his way from the Sulur IAF Station to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in Coonoor when the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter in which he was travelling crashed in a forested area in the Niligris district around 12:20 pm.
The IAF said that an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Video footage showed rescue workers dousing steaming wreckage in a wooded area.