New Delhi, Dec 9,2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with defence officials on Thursday paid tributes to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier LS Lidder and other Army and Air Force personnel who died in the chopper crash close to Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Defence Minister, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Choudhuri, and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar laid wreaths, and paid floral tributes to the deceased.
Mortal remains of General Rawat, Madhulika Rawat and Brig Lidder were identified, and handed over to their families for last rites. However, rest of the bodies could not be identified.
Defence sources said the process for identification of remaining mortal remains is continuing. Mortal remains will be kept at the Mortuary of Army Base Hospital till completion of positive identification formalities.
Appropriate military funerals of all deceased are being planned and coordinated in close consultation with close family members, the source said.
All mortal remains were moved by a convoy of vehicle by road from Wellington to Sulur around 12.00 noon, and were flown to Delhi from Sulur.
Highly-decorated India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel were on Wednesday killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, sending a wave of sorrow across the country.
The pilot of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was the lone survivor in the crash that took place in Coonoor valley at around noon when Gen Rawat was on his way to Wellington to deliver a lecture. He remains critical, has been moved to Command Hospital, Bangalore.
According to reports and eyewitness accounts, the helicopter crashed after hitting some trees and burst into flames.
The chopper took off at 11:47 am from Sulur and was heading to Wellington when it crashed at 12:20 pm, about 5-10 km and five minutes from the landing site.
The Russia-made two-engine helicopter, considered very stable and safe, split into pieces and the wreckage was scattered on a hillside.
A Tri-Services inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.
