CDS General Bipin Rawat was alive and able to say his name when he was pulled out of the wreckage of the Mi-17V5 chopper in which he was travelling, the Times of India has reported quoting a senior fireman involved in rescue. General Rawat died o way to hospital, the report added.
While the chopper crashed around noon in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor, the Air Force confirmed General Rawat's passing away at 6 pm.
General Rawat and his wife were among 13 people killed in the deadly chopper crash.
Group Captain Varun Singh, who was the 14th passenger on the chopper is battling for his life at a military hospital.
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General Rawat was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College in the Nilgiri Hills to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course.
The chopper crashed in the forest area, reportedly due to poor visibility following heavy fog. The IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident.
The accident site was a scene of despair with trees being reduced to broken pieces under the impact of the crash, flames from the chopper engulfing the wooden logs resulting in billowing smoke and personnel scurrying to douse the fire,
The mangled and burnt remains of the ill-fated IAF chopper were strewn along the site, even as rescue services personnel were seen carrying bodies in stretchers to be transported through waiting ambulances.
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