General Bipin Rawat Helicopter Crash: Rajnath Singh’s Statement on Bipin Rawat Helicopter Crash: Full Text

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today informed Parliament about the military helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu which caused Chief of the General Staff of Defense Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others died. The Defense Minister sent condolences to the families of those killed. Parliament also held a silence in memory of the departed souls.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s full statement on Military helicopter crash:

With deep sorrow and heavy heart, I stand up to convey the unfortunate news of the military helicopter crash at noon on December 8, 2021, with the participation of the first Chief of Defense Staff of the United States Army. India, General Bipin Rawat.

General Bipin Rawat scheduled a visit to Defense ServicesStaff College, Wellington to interact with the Officer students. The Air Force Mi 17 V 5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11:48 a.m. yesterday and is expected to land in Wellington at 12:15 p.m. Air Traffic Control at Sulur Air Base lost contact with the helicopter around 12:08 pm. Later, some locals spotted a fire in the woods near Coonoor and ran to where they observed the wreckage of a military helicopter engulfed in flames. Rescue teams from the local government in the vicinity have reached the scene and attempted to salvage survivors from the crash site.

All those recovered from the wreckage were rushed to Army Hospital, Wellington. The latest reports have confirmed that of the total 14 people on board the ill-fated helicopter, 13 have succumbed to their injuries. Those killed included CDS spouse Madhulika Rawat, Defense Adviser Brig Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and 9 other Armed Forces personnel, including crew Air Force helicopters. Their names are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Captain Kuldeep Singh, Junior Police Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Police Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja. Captain Varun Singh is on life support in the Army Hospital in Wellington and every effort is being made to save his life.

A tri Service investigation into the incident has been ordered by the Indian Air Force, led by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Training Command.