- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S chief of air staff Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on Wednesday (8) rushed to Sulur base of the Indian Air Force in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after a military helicopter carrying chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat and 13 others crashed in a forest area near Coonoor in the state, sources said.
They added that Chaudhari was rushed to Sulur after he was asked to visit the area by defence minister Rajnath Singh.
ALSO READ: Indian military helicopter carrying chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat crashes
The air force confirmed earlier in the day that Rawat, who is India’s first chief of defence staff, was on board the Mi-17V5 helicopter that met with the accident while flying from Sulur to Wellington where Rawat was supposed to deliver a lecture at the prestigious Defence Services Staff College. Fourteen people, including nine officials, were on the ill-fated helicopter.
The IAF ordered an inquiry into the accident.
Five people have so far died in the incident, said government sources in Tamil Nadu.
Bodies were recovered from the site of the crash and were taken to Military Hospital, Wellington.
“Bodies recovered from the site of the crash, between Coimbatore and Sulur where a military chopper crashed, have been taken to Military Hospital, Wellington in Tamil Nadu,” sources told Asian News International.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was briefed about the crash by Singh.
