Defence Minister extended his condolences to the families of those who died
Today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh briefed the Parliament on the Army helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others died. The defence minister extended his condolences to the families of those who died. The Parliament also observed a silence in honour of the departed souls in the crash.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's said in the Statement on Army Helicopter Crash in Parliament:
With profound grief and heavy heart, I stand to convey the unfortunate news of the crash of the military helicopter in the noon of 8th December 2021, with India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat onboard.
General Bipin Rawat was on a scheduled visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington to interact with the student Officers. The Air Force Mi 17 V 5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11:48 AM yesterday and was supposed to land at Wellington by 12:15 PM. Air Traffic Control at Sulur Air Base lost contact with the helicopter at approximately 12:08 PM. Subsequently, few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they observed the wreckage of a military helicopter engulfed in flames. Rescue teams from the local administration reached the site and attempted to recover the survivors from the crash site.
All those recovered from the wreckage were rushed to the Military Hospital, Wellington. Latest reports have confirmed that out of the total 14 persons onboard the helicopter, 13 have lost their lives. The dead include the spouse of the CDS, Mrs Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brig Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh and 9 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. In the Military Hospital at Wellington, Group Captain Varun Singh is on life support system and all efforts are being made to save his life.
Indian Air Force has ordered a Tri Service enquiry regarding the incident, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.
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