Military chopper crashes in TN, Gen Bipin Rawat on board

TIL Desk/National/TN/ A helicopter carrying about 3-4 senior officials including ‘top’ officers crashed near Coonoor in the nearby hilly Nilgiris district on Wednesday, police sources said.  Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his staff and some family members were in the Mi-series chopper that crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu.

Local military officers have reached the location and were told that locals have taken two bodies with 80 per cent burns to a local hospital. Few bodies can be seen downhill in the area of the accident. Efforts are on to retrieve the bodies and check identities, according to reports.

The chopper was on its way from the Sulur IAF base to the Defence Services College at Wellington when it crashed, they said.  The mishap happened at Nanjappanchathiram area amid heavy mist and early visuals showed the helicopter in flames.

There was no immediate information on possible casualty or injuries. 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, the Air Force has confirmed.