PremiumGen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 other military officials were travelling in the Mi-17V5 helicopter which crashed minutes before landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington killing all passengers and crew
Listen to this article |
As many as four accidents of the Mi-17V5 helicopters of IAF have resulted in 21 deaths over the last five years, said the Union defence ministry on Friday.
“Four accidents of Mi-17V5 helicopters of Indian Air Force (IAF) have taken place in the last five years, including the one which took place on 8 December, in which all 14 people along with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat lost their lives. In these four accidents, a total of 21 people lost their lives," said minister of state in the ministry of defence Ajay Bhatt.
Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 other military officials were travelling in the Mi-17V5 helicopter which crashed minutes before landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington killing all passengers and crew on board on 8 December.
The Mi-17V5 had taken off from the Sulur airbase and was supposed to land after a small journey of around 30 minutes. The locals from the villages near the crash site were quick to reach the spot and helped in the evacuation of the victims from there.
The previous three accidents took place November 2021, 3 April 2018, and October 2017 in which seven persons were killed, the defence ministry informed Lok Sabha.
Inquiry into Gen Rawat's chopper crash
Meanwhile, reports suggest that the tri-services inquiry set up by the defence ministry to probe the reasons behind the chopper crash wherein CDS Rawat and 13 others were killed is expected to complete its proceedings within the next two weeks.
The inquiry is headed by an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and country's best chopper pilot Air Marshal Manvendra Singh and one each Brigadier-rank officer from the Indian Army and the Indian Navy.
"The statements of the witness are being recorded by the inquiry team which includes people on the ground near the crash site in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district. The team is expected to complete its proceedings in the next two weeks," news agency ANI reported, quoting government sources.
The inquiry teams had started their work on the very next day the incident took place. The statements are being recorded and in one or two cases, some people have changed their account of the incidents, they said.
