CDS chopper crashed in Tamil Naidu’s Coonoor on Wednesday afternoon. Army chief Bipin Rawat has been declared dead after being hospitalized due to burns and severe injuries. His wife, Mrs. Madhulika Rawat, and 11 others on the flight were declared dead.
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.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 8, 2021
“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,” Indian Air Force mentioned in a statement.
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.
His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2021
Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister of India, visited the residence of CDS General Rawat today in Delhi. He is likely to address the parliament tomorrow by 11 am. An inquiry has been ordered to bring out the major cause of the crash.