Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat passes away in chopper crash in Nilgiris
Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat passed away after the Army helicopter which was on, crashed in Coonoor.
“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,” an official communique from IAF read.
General Rawat was on his way from the Sulur IAF Station to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in Coonoor when the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter in which he was travelling crashed in a forested area in the Niligris district around 12:20 pm.
The ill-fated helicopter was carrying 14 people in total — 9 passengers and 5 crew members.
The passengers were CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brig LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kr, L/Naik Vivek Kumar, L/Naik B Sai Teja & Hav Satpal.
Rawat was appointed as the Cheif of Defence Staff, the chief of the trri-services of the Indian Armed Forces in December 2019.