Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid his last respects to chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and others who died in an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash a day ago in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor area.
Mortal remains of the CDS, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brig LS Lidder and other personnel who were killed in the mishap were brought to the Palam technical airport in Delhi from Sulur airbase in an IAF C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft around 7:35pm. Earlier, when the mortal remains of General Bipin Rawat, including his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other army personnel were being taken towards Sulur Air Force Station from Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, a gathering of people was seen on the streets and they gathered to pay their last respects. A wreath was laid on the ambulance carrying the remains that were earlier kept at the Madras Regimental Center in Wellington where Tamil Nadu Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and senior military officials paid tributes.
The mortal remains of other martyrs have been taken from Sulur Air Force Station to their native places, where they will be cremated. The mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife have been brought to Delhi. They will be brought from Palam airport to their official residence at Kamaraj Marg in New Delhi so that people can pay their last respects. The general public will be able to have the last glimpse of the body of General Rawat. The funeral will take place on Friday itself.
The flight data recorder i.e. ‘black box’ of the Indian Air Force helicopter that crashed in Tamil Nadu has been recovered. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that a team of the three services, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, would investigate the incident. He also said in a statement in Parliament that the investigation was underway and the lone survivor of the crash was on life support in Wellington. Wellington is not far from the accident site. Only Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh survived the accident. He is Director at the prestigious Defense Services Staff College (DSSC) and received General Rawat at Sulur airport from where he helicoptered to Wellington.
Both Houses of Parliament observed two-minutes silence on the demise of 13 people.A total of 14 people were on board the IAF’s helicopter. Those who died in the crash include General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew.
