How Coonoor's residents rose to the occasion during Gen Bipin Rawat's rescue operations

General Bipin Rawat's military helicopter crashed in the hill station Coonoor around noon on Wednesday after the Mi-17V5 hit a tree, crash-landed in the jungle, and burst into flames.

The village of Nanjappa Chathram was closest to the crash site near Kattery where helicopters flying in and out is a common sighting from Wellington -- a nearby cantonment that has the Defence Services Staff College.

An elderly woman from the village told TOI that they did not pay much attention to General Rawat's helicopter until the 'whirring' noises stopped all of a sudden. They realised something was amiss and rushed out of the house.


On reaching the crash site, they found a mangled helicopter with charred bodies inside and three people with severe burns lying unconscious outside the aircraft.

Not everyone was yet aware that CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife were on the flight.

The next few hours the locality saw a hoard of ambulances, fire engines, and army vehicles, with more than 200 personnel from defence, health, police, and fire services reaching the spot for a coordinated rescue.

The residents rose to the occasion and joined the rescue effort as they scurried up and down the stone steps through the muddy mountain terrain to bring water in pots to douse the fire.

The bodies were rescued and taken to the Wellington military hospital.

As news of the crash spread, security was tightened across Coonoor.

General Rawat, his wife Madhulika, and 11 others on board the Indian Air Force helicopter died in the crash.

(With inputs from TOI)