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Bipin Rawat Chopper Crash: Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone survivor of the Mi-17V5 chopper that crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately we lost India’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat.
About IAF Chopper Crash Coonoor:
The Chopper crash took place shortly after the Russian-made Mi-17 V5 chopper took off from the Air Force base in Sulur, Coimbatore, for Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills.
READ MORE: We Lost CDS Bipin Rawat in a Helicopter Crash
The helicopter was already making its descent and would have landed in 10 more minutes. It came down around 10 km from the nearest road, forcing emergency workers to trek to the accident site, said news agency AFP. Reports of the crash emerged around 12.20 pm.
About Group Captain Varun Singh
According to an official statement by the IAF, of a total 14 people, Varun Singh is the only person to have survived the IAF chopper crash, and is currently undergoing treatment at the Military Hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Wellington.
Group Captain Singh was honoured with the Shaurya Chakra on this year’s Independence Day by President Ram Nath Kovind for saving his LCA Tejas fighter aircraft during an emergency in October 2020. He is the directing staff of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington in Tamil Nadu.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others, who were among the 14 passengers on board the chopper have been confirmed dead.