CDS Bipin Rawat helicopter crash: Varun Singh still critical, but stable

BENGALURU: Group Captain Varun Singh, the sole survivor of the Mi17V5 helicopter crash in which Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others were killed on Wednesday near Conoor in Tamil Nadu, continues to be critical but stable, said sources. He is in the intensive care unit at the Command Hospital in Bengaluru, where he was admitted on Thursday evening.

According to sources, Command Hospital, like any Defence hospital, has the mechanism to share the expertise of any civil and private hospital in the interest of the patient’s treatment. So far, the Air Force Hospital has not reached out to any corporate hospital for help regarding the injured officer’s treatment, they added.

“Doctors and surgeons in Forces specialise in trauma care. They are well trained to take care of war and trauma injuries. If need be, they can seek the best help possible for treatment of their patients from any other hospital,” said a source. 

Command Hospital has Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) chamber, which is used to breathe in pure oxygen in air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average. HBOT is used for speeding up healing of carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, stubborn wounds and infections in which tissues are starved for oxygen and restore normal body functions.

A team of doctors including intensivists and plastic surgeons is attending on Singh, who has reportedly suffered 85 per cent burns besides other physical injuries, sources said.Meanwhile, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday visited the Hospital and enquired about the IAF officer’s health.