Coonoor Crash: 4 dead; CDS Bipin Rawat hospitalized

Coonoor: An Army helicopter carrying 14 army personnel, including CDS Bipin Rawat, crashed near Coonoor in the nearby hilly Nilgiris district on Wednesday. According to police sources, the chopper was on its way from the Sulur IAF base to the Defence Services College (DSC) at Wellington when it crashed. 4 people have died in the crash reports said. Identification of the deceased is said to be underway.

According to reports, CDS Bipin Rawat and his entourage were in the Mi-series chopper that crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu. Search and rescue operations were launched from nearby bases.

A total of 14 people including Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, Defence Assistant, security commandos and IAF pilots were on board the chopper.

The 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 media reports, CDS Rawat has been taken to a hospital for treatment.

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