Indian Air Force and other officials said the helicopter crashed in foggy conditions, killing 13 of the 14 people on board. The only survivor of the accident is Group Captain Varun Singh.
how did the accident happen
The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained but official sources said that fog could have caused the accident.
CDS Rawat And his wife had taken an early morning flight from Delhi to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.
The helicopter carrying Rawat and others took off from Sulur IAF station at around 11.50 am and was to land at Defense Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Udhagamandalam, about an hour later. CDS Rawat was to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course in DSSC.
The accident happened around 12.20 pm in Ooty, about 10 km from the landing site.
According to official sources and a local eyewitness, the helicopter was flying at a low altitude in foggy conditions when it crashed into a valley before falling from trees. As soon as the helicopter landed, it caught fire.
Although it brushed a house during the fall, there were no human casualties or injuries as prisoners were not at home.
The building was damaged in the incident. An eyewitness said that two people who were injured in the fire fell down from the helicopter.
The chopper later crashed in the forest area, causing the fire to break into pieces of trees and ashes.
who was everyone on board
Besides General Rawat and his wife, Brigadier LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Naik Vivek Kumar, Naik B Sai Teja, Havildar Satpal were on board the helicopter.
Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the helicopter. Four other crew members were also present.
DSSC’s Directory Staff Group Captain Varun Singh SC is the survivor of the accident. The injuries are being treated at the Military Hospital in Wellington.
Indian Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, who was injured in a military helicopter crash, was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for… https://t.co/G6b9hi71TB
— ANI (@ANI) 1638967671000
According to sources, he is the commanding officer of the 109 helicopter unit.
(with inputs from agencies)
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