Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed Parliament about the circumstances surrounding the tragic demise of India’s top military officer, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other members of CDS staff and crew in a helicopter crash at Connoor, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
The Defence Minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Air Force has appointed a tri-service inquiry under Air Martial Manvendra Singh to probe the crash of Mi-17V5 that crashed in a jungle in Coonoor. He said the bodies of the deceased would be brought to Delhi tonight.
General Rawat would be cremated with full military honours and other officers would be cremated with appropriate military honours. Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash, is on life support at the Wellington Military Hospital and all efforts to save him are being made, said the Defence Minister.
“I have come to inform the House of the tragic demise of General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other members of the convoy including officers and the crew. General Rawat was on a scheduled visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington where he had an interaction with the students. His helicopter Mi-17V5 took off from the Sulur air base at 11.48 am. It was supposed to land at Wellingon at 12.15 pm.
The Sulur air base traffic control lost contact with the helicopter at 12.08 pm. Shortly afterwards, near Coonoor in the jungles, some locals saw fire erupting from a specific spot. They informed the local administration which rushed there and rescued the bodies from the flames,” the Defence Minister told the House.