India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI— Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika were among 13 persons who died when an IAF chopper carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
This was confirmed by IAF in a tweet.
“With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” IAF said in a tweet.
IAF said that Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries, is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.
According to IAF, Gen Bipin Rawat, was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today.
“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.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached the residence of Gen Rawal after learning about the accident.
Defence Minister, according to reports, will make a statement in Parliament on Thursday.
