IAF Chopper Crash: Found Gen Bipin Rawat Alive With Severe Burns, He Could Speak, Says Rescuer

Two people, including General Bipin Rawat and Group Captain Varun Singh, were found alive by the rescuers after the crash of the IAF helicopter in Coonoor, near Ooty in Tamil Nadu, a member of the rescue team has claimed.

According to NC Murali, a senior fireman who was one of the first to reach the spot where the Mi-17V5 had crashed, General Rawat was alive and was able to communicate when he was found.

AFP

¡°We rescued two people alive. One was CDS Rawat. As we carried him out, he spoke in a low tone to the defence personnel in Hindi and uttered his name," Murali was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

"General suffered severe burns"

According to him, General Rawat had suffered severe burns in the lower part of his body. ¡°He was taken to the ambulance wrapped in a bedsheet," Murali said, adding that he died on the way to the hospital.

He said that the terrain where the chopper had crashed made the search and rescue difficult.

AFP

¡°There was no road to take the fire service engine to douse the flames. We had to fetch water in pots from the nearby river and houses. The operation was so difficult as we had to prise open the jagged pieces of the chopper to rescue people or retrieve the bodies,¡± he said.

Probe on

Though the exact circumstances that led to the fatal crash are yet to be scientifically established, locals said moments before it went down, the chopper was flying low and hit a tree after which it suddenly went down with a loud noise.

13 people including General Rawat, and his wife lost their lives in the tragic incident.

Others who lost their lives on Wednesday are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja.

AP

Second air accident

This was the second time General Rawat was involved in an air crash.

In February 2015, Rawat, who was then a Lt-General, had a narrow escape when his Cheetah helicopter crashed in Nagaland.

Rawat, who was then commanding the '3 Spear' Corps sustained minor injuries when the chopper hit the ground nose-down, plunging from a height of 20-25 metres, soon after taking off.

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