Chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat crashes near Ooty in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: An IAF helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and others crashed near Coonoor in the Nilgris district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon.
"An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, " IAF tweeted.

At least seven bodies were retrieved. Three were rescued alive. According to eyewitnesses, more bodies were found trapped under the debris of the chopper. Exercise of dousing the fire was still under way along with the rescue operation.
Health officials who are on the spot said, the number of personnel on board was yet to be disclosed by the DSSC.
The chopper that took off from Sulur Air Force station was going to Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. The chopper crashed in a gorge close to a small habitat in a tea estate near Kattery, around seven kilometers away from Coonoor, at 12.20pm.
Fire service, defence and police personnel have been pressed into rescue operations. The accident location is totally taken over by the defence.