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- IAF Helicopter Crash Live Updates: Rescuer says General Rawat was found alive, died on way to hospital; Air Chief Marshal reaches crash site
IAF Helicopter Crash Live Updates: Rescuer says General Rawat was found alive, died on way to hospital; Air Chief Marshal reaches crash site
CDS General Bipin Rawat was alive and able to say his name when he was extricated from the wreckage of the Mi-17V5 chopper along with another passenger, later identified as Group Captain Varun Singh, said a senior leading fireman who was among the first to reach the crash site near Coonoor on Wednesday. Stay with TOI for all the latest updates:Read Less
Key Events
- General Naravane considered frontrunner for CDS post
- Poor visibility, not technical fault, likely crash cause
- 'Our thoughts, prayers are with Rawat family and families of other victims of crash': US Defense Secy Austin
- General was found alive, died on way to hospital: Rescuer
- CDS Gen Bipin Rawat killed in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor, confirms IAF
General Bipin Rawat ( 1958-2021)
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari reaches the chopper crash site near Coonoor
Video: AF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari reaches the chopper crash site near #Coonoor in Nilgiris district of… https://t.co/w7wge8UzPY
— TOIChennai (@TOIChennai) 1639018241000General was found alive, died on way to hospital: Rescuer
CDS General Bipin Rawat was alive and able to say his name when he was extricated from the wreckage of the Mi-17V5 chopper along with another passenger, later identified as Group Captain Varun Singh, said a senior leading fireman who was among the first to reach the crash site near Coonoor on Wednesday. READ MORE
"In contact with destination control.” That was the last message from the pilot of the Mi-17V5 to Coimbatore ATC before the aircraft changed over to the defence ATC around five minutes from landing at the Wellington base on Wednesday.
The chopper’s movement was not tracked on radar because Coimbatore does not have one that can map low-altitude flights.
The helicopter was supposed to return within 10 minutes of dropping off the passengers
Official
No May Day call before crash, says Coimbatore ATC
Coimbatore ATC sources said there was no May Day call, which is usually transmitted on open VHF frequency for all to hear. Only rarely do they transmit such calls for help on an exclusive emergency frequency, said an official.
‘Poor visibility, not technical fault, likely crash cause’
Foggy conditions and poor visibility could be factors that caused the Mi-17 V5 carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and several others to crash in Coonoor, aviation experts said, though official word on the reason for Wednesday’s fatal accident is awaited. READ MORE
35 minutes in the air, fall through trees and a burning wreck
After the death of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat yesterday, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty has cut short his two-day visit to Qatar and is returning to Delhi: Sources
Gen Rawat was strong proponent of India-US defence partnership: US
General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff who died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, was a strong proponent of India-US defence ties and helped deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries, a senior US official has said.
Sixty-three-year-old Rawat took charge as India's first chief of defense staff on December 31, 2019, after serving as the army chief for a full three-year term. CDS Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978
Apart from Gen Rawat and his wife, two other senior military officers, five commandos and five Air Force personnel were all killed in the crash. The helicopter crashed around noon shortly after it took off from the Air Force base in Sulur, Coimbatore, for Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills
Rawat was likely to visit in-laws’ in Jan; kin switch off TV to shield mom-in-law
Polish envoy to India, Burakowski extends condolences on demise of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat
The Polish ambassador to India, Adam Burakowski on Wednesday extended his deepest condolences on the demise of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and to the families of those who died in the tragic helicopter crash in the Nilgiri Hills. "Deepest condolences to the Family of General Bipin Rawat and the Families of those who died in the tragic crash. R.I.P.", tweeted Burakowski. Coincidentally in April 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many other of its leaders were killed in a plane crash, killing all 96 aboard.
Pentagon condoles CDS Gen Rawat's demise in chopper crash
The Pentagon top officials on Wednesday (local time) including Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Mark Milley and Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby condoled the demise of India's first CDS, General Bipin Rawat. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of General Bipin Rawat, the Indian Chief of Defence Staff, his wife, and eleven others who died in a tragic helicopter crash. As India's first chief of defence, he made a lasting impact on the Indian military and reinforced our strong military-to-military relationship between the US and India," said Milley's statement. US's top military commander also shared that both Rawat and his wife Dr Madhulika, who too died in the crash had spent time with him and his spouse Hollyanne Milley.
No access for fire engines, fetched water in pots, pans: Rescue team
The rescue team found the terrain tough. “There was no road to take the fire service engine to douse the flames. We had to fetch water in pots from the nearby river and houses. The operation was so difficult as we had to prise open the jagged pieces of the chopper to rescue people or retrieve the bodies,” Murali said