Bodies of Gen Rawat and others killed in helicopter accident taken to Delhi
The last rites of Chief of Defence staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika, who died in a chopper crash along with 11 others in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor on Wednesday, will be performed on Friday in Delhi Cantonment.
On Thursday their bodies were flown from to Delhi in a military plane after a wreath-laying ceremony in Wellington, attended by Tamil Nadu M K Chief Minister Stalin and Puducherry Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan
Also read: CDS Bipin Rawat, wife and 11 others killed in chopper crash
The bodies were brought to Rawat’s residence in Delhi to allow people to pay their last respects. Following this, they will be taken to the crematorium in a funeral procession, which will start from Kamraj Marg.
The bodies of others who died in the mishap were also taken to Delhi, from where they will be sent to their families.
The Indian Air Force chopper (Mi-17V5) carrying five crew members and nine passengers, including Rawat and his wife, crashed in the Niligiri Hills of Coonoor soon after taking off from Sulur. Rawat and his entourage were headed to the Defence Services Staff College in Ooty’s Wellington, where Rawat was slated to address the faculty and staff.
The lone survivor of the incident Group Captain Varun Singh SC, directing staff at DSSC, is currently undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Bengaluru.
The IAF confirmed the death of Rawat and his wife in a tweet at 6.03pm on Wednesday. The deceased included two senior military officers, five commandos and five IAF personnel.
Also read: Gen Rawat: The man who rose through ranks to become country’s first CDS
A senior fireman who rescued Rawat told the media that the CDS was alive and conscious when they got him out of the chopper’s wreckage along with Varun Singh. Rawat reportedly also said his name and spoke in Hindi to a defence personnel who accompanied the rescuers. He, however, died on the way to the hospital.
With the government likely to announce Rawat’s successor soon, Army Chief General MM Naravane is said to be considered for the position.
