NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 8: General Bipin Rawat, India’s Chief of Defence Staff, his wife madhulika Rawat and 11 others have been killed in the chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. He was 63.
President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Defence Minister expressed grief over demise of Gen Bipin Rawat. In a tweet, President Ram Nath Kovind said, he was shocked and anguished over the untimely demise of General Bipin Rawat and his wife. He said, the nation has lost one of its bravest sons. His four decades of selfless service to the motherland was marked by exceptional gallantry and heroism. Mr. Kovind said, it was deeply painful for him to learn of the loss of lives in the chopper crash. He paid tributes to each of those who died while performing their duty.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet said, General Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier, a true patriot, who greatly contributed to modernising armed forces and security apparatus. The Prime Minister said, General Bipin Rawat’s insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. He said, as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat worked on diverse aspects relating to our armed forces including defence reforms and brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army. He said, India will never forget the exceptional service of General Bipin Rawat.
Home Minister Amit Shah said, it is a very sad day for the nation as we have lost our Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat in a very tragic accident. He said, General Rawat was one of the bravest soldiers, who has served the motherland with utmost devotion and his exemplary contributions and commitment cannot be put into words. Mr. Shah also expressed his deepest condolences on the sad demise of Madhulika Rawat and 11 other Armed Forces personnel. He said, his thoughts are with the bereaved families and may God give them the strength to bear this tragic loss.
“Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu,’’ said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the Country, he added.
The J&K’s Lt Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat, tweeting “deeply shocked at tragic demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 11 other Armed Forces Personnel in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. The nation has lost one of its bravest sons. My thoughts and prayers are with bereaved families in this hour of grief’’.
Earlier TV visuals showed the badly damaged chopper in flames, possibly under the impact of the crash. Apparently, a major tragedy was averted as the helicopter fell at some distance away from a human habitation, averting possible mass casualties.
The accident site was a scene of despair with trees being reduced to broken pieces under the impact of the crash, flames from the chopper engulfing the wooden logs resulting in billowing smoke and personnel scurrying to douse the fire, including using buckets and water hose. What seemed to be some charred bodies were also seen lying around.
The mangled and burnt remains of the ill-fated IAF chopper were strewn along the site, even as rescue services personnel were seen carrying bodies in stretchers to be transported through waiting ambulances.
The accident site remained out of bounds for civilians. Local eyewitnesses told a Tamil TV channel they could hear a loud noise, apparently of the crash, and later saw the chopper on fire, with some of the occupants suffering serious burn injuries.
Rawat was on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington.
The helicopter, carrying a few senior officials, was on its way from Sulur in Coimbatore to DSC in Wellington where Rawat, along with Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane, was slated to participate in an event later, the sources added.
The chopper crashed in the forest area, reportedly due to poor visibility following heavy fog.
