Five dead in chopper crash, says TN Forest Minister; status of Gen Bipin Rawat's condition unclear

An IAF helicopter with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat on board crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the IAF said in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon.

Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ramachandran confirmed that five people passed away in the mishap.
“I have reached here (chopper crash site) on the instructions of the CM. Out of the 14 people on board, five people have died and the situation of two others is critical. Rescue operation is underway,” he said.


CM Stalin too expressed his shock at th incident and said he was rushing to the spot in a tweet.

No immediate information was provided on the condition of Gen Rawat.

The local military officers have reached the location and efforts are on to retrieve the bodies and check identities.

Visuals showed the chopper in flames and army personnel were seen involved in clearing the area. The IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached CDS Bipin Rawat’s home in Delhi.