Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has condoled the sad demise of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Defence personnel in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
“Deeply saddened by the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife & 11 other Defence personnel in a very tragic accident in Tamil Nadu. It is an irreparable loss to the nation. Deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish speedy recovery of the injured, the CM tweeted.
Deeply saddened by the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen #BipinRawat, his wife & 11 other Defence personnel in a very tragic accident in #TamilNadu. It is an irreparable loss to the nation. Deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish speedy recovery of the injured.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) December 8, 2021
Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 11 others were killed when their IAF Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district.
“With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” the Indian Air Force said.
The CDS was going to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, to give a lecture.
The chopper, with a total of 14 persons on board, took off from the Sulur air base near Coimbatore and was on its way to Coonoor. When the chopper was a few minutes away from landing, it, as per eyewitnesses, hit a tree, crashed, and caught fire, resulting in several casualties.