Avoid uninformed speculation on Coonoor crash, urges IAF

As the country pays respects to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others who were killed in a military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force (IAF) cautioned against "uninformed speculation".

The Air Force said that an inquiry into the chopper crash "would be completed expeditiously" and facts would be brought out but till then any "uninformed speculation may be avoided". It added that the IAF has constituted a tri-service court of inquiry to investigate the cause of the tragic helicopter accident on December 8, 2021.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that a tri-service enquiry regarding the incident has been ordered.

The team will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh.

Those who were killed in the crash include the spouse of the CDS, Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brig Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew. Their names 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.

Also Read | Bipin Rawat senior-most military official to die in an air crash

The lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh is a hospital in Bengaluru.

The Chief of Defence Staff would be cremated with full military honours later today.

Watch the latest DH Videos here: