Indian Air Force announces the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat along with 12 others in chopper crash.
"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." IAF Tweeted from its official account today evening.
Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.
An Indian Air Force helicopter with the chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat on board crashed on Wednesday near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. Thirteen of the fourteen personnel involved in the crash have been confirmed dead. There is no immediate information on the condition of Gen Rawat, even as the IAF has said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident, involving a Mi-17VH chopper that took off from the Sulur IAF Station in nearby Coimbatore.
The Mi17V5 helicopter, which crashed with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat and 13 other people onboard on Wednesday, is an advanced military transport chopper that has been with the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 2012. Manufactured by Russian Helicopters' subsidiary Kazan, the helicopter has an onboard weather radar and is equipped with the latest generation of night vision devices. It also has the new PKV-8 autopilot system and a KNEI-8 avionics suite. It can carry a maximum take off weight of 13,000 kg and maximum payload weight of 4,000kg.
Wing commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the Mi-17V5 He is the commanding officer of the 109 Helicopter Unit, ANI reported quoting sources.