India’s Chief Of Defense Staff Helicopter Crashes In Tamil Nadu

Officials said a chopper carrying India’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other officials crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The helicopter went down in the Coonoor area of the Nilgiris district, about 538 kilometers southwest of Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital.

Officials have not confirmed the number of those killed, citing sensitivity and protocol concerns.

Four bodies have been recovered, according to local media sources, and three more have been gravely injured.

Rawat was on board at the time of the crash, according to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat crashed today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu,” the IAF said in a terse statement. “An investigation into the reason of the accident has been ordered.”

Around 14 individuals were on board, according to local television news agency Asian News International (ANI), including nine passengers and five crew members, as well as Rawat’s wife.

According to reports, the helicopter had taken off from Coimbatore’s Sulur air base and was on its way to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Nilgiris, when it crashed.

The cause of the crash remained unknown at the time.

The helicopter wreckage, as well as significant smoke and flames, were seen in photographs and video footage broadcast on local news networks. The injured or dead were also transported from the scene down a steep slope, according to television footage.

Many residents had gathered at the scene and were assisting in putting out the fire.

Tamil Nadu police and local government officials have raced to the scene, according to officials.