An Indian Air Force helicopter crashed in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday. The Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat his staff and some family members were on board. There were a total of fourteen people on board, according to sources.
Five bodies have been found from the crash site and four have been taken to the hospital at Wellington cantonment in Nilgiris district for treatment. There was no immediate information on the condition of Genenral Rawat.
"An IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," tweeted the Air Force.
General Rawat had taken a flight from Delhi to Sulur earlier today and that flight manifest had listed nine people. The flight from Sulur included five more, possibly crew.
The crash took place in the Nilgiris shortly after the Russian-made Mi-17 V5 chopper took off from the army base in Sulur in Coimbatore for the Defence Staff Services College in Wellington.
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