A military chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 14 others crashed in between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu. The chopper that was travelling from Sulur to the Wellington base in Connor, Nilgiris district included 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.
The chopper crashed shortly after it took off from an Army base in Sulur near Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. It was heading to Wellington in Udhagamandalam, where a Defence Services Staff College is located. The exact reason behind the crash is still to be found but a few reports say that it is because of the fog conditions in the area. The accident is reported to have happened around 12:20 pm and many locals have tried to help put off the fire from the accident.
Those who were in the chopper are being rescued by the Military staff. Reports say that CDS Bipin Rawat has been admitted to the hospital and is in critical condition. Speculations are that 11 victims have passed away and 3 others are still in critical condition. Official confirmation is awaited.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is to visit Coimbatore around 5 pm. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is to brief the Parliament regarding the chopper crash shortly and has also briefed the Prime Minister Modi. The Parliament is currently in its Winter session. Updates and confirmation regarding the state of the those who were in the chopper is awaited.