Centre orders tri-service probe into copter crash
Probe team will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh
A tri-services team headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh has been tasked with investigating the reasons behind the Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor that led to the deaths of Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other military personnel, defence minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on Thursday.
The defence minister said that the lone survivor from the crash, Group Captain Varun Singh, is on life support and all efforts are being made to save his life.
A senior Army official said Gp Cap Singh is still critical and was taken on Thursday by ambulance to Sulur from where he was flown in an AN-32 aircraft to Command Hospital, Bengaluru. His flight reached Bengaluru at around 4 pm.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter has been recovered and will be crucial to ascertain the final moments of the helicopter before the crash. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari also on Thursday surveyed the site where the helicopter had crashed.
A new video taken by tourists which emerged on Thursday shows the Mi17V5 helicopter which had
14 persons on board, including members of Gen. Rawat’s personal staff and four members of the crew, flying low and being engulfed by a very thick fog.
The defence minister on Thursday made a statement in both Houses of Parliament. He said Gen. Rawat was on a scheduled visit to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, to interact with student officers. Singh said the Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter took off from Sulur airbase at 11.48 am on Wednesday and was expected to land at Wellington by
12.15 pm.
“Air Traffic Control at Sulur Airbase lost contact with the helicopter at approximately 12.08 pm. Subsequently, a few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot, where they observed the wreckage of the military helicopter engulfed in flames,” the minister said.