Witness Claims He Sees Generals, Says He’s Alive, He Asks For Water
Coonoor:
A witness at the site of the crash in Tamil Nadu that killed General Bipin Rawat and 12 others on Wednesday claimed that he saw the General alive moments after the wreckage was found. on the hill.
Shiv Kumar, a contractor, was visiting his brother – he works on a tea estate – when the helicopter crashed yesterday afternoon near Coonoor in Nilgiris.
Shiv Kumar claimed he saw the Air Force helicopter burn and crash. He and the others rushed to the site.
“We saw three bodies falling… one man was alive. He asked for water. We pulled him out in a bed sheet and he was taken away by rescuers,” Shiv said. Kumar told NDTV.
Three hours later, he said, someone told him the person he was talking to was General Bipin Rawat, and showed him a photo of the Chief of Defense Staff.
“I can’t believe this man has done so much for the country … and can’t even get water. I couldn’t sleep all night,” said Shiv Kumar, with tears in his eyes.
General Rawat is presumed dead on his way to the hospital.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament that a three-service investigation had been set up to investigate the crash.
General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were killed when the helicopter crashed en route to Wellington from Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore.
The sole survivor is Captain Varun Singh, who is being treated for severe burns at a military hospital in Wellington. According to Rajnath Singh, he is on life support.
The Mi17 V5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11:48 a.m. Wednesday and is expected to land in Wellington at 12:15 p.m. But the helicopter flew off the radar at around 12:08pm.
The black box has been recovered and may help investigators understand why the helicopter crashed.
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