A military helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 13 other Defence officials crashed in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday.
As per latest reports, 13 of the 14 personnel have been confirmed dead while identities of the bodies would be confirmed through DNA testing.
As per reports, CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat along with other defence officials were scheduled to visit Defence Staff College in Wellington. The CDS along with other members boarded a flight from Delhi to Sulur and from there they boarded the MI 17V5 helicopter from the Indian Air Force base to Defence Staff College in Wellington.
However, it crashed shortly after take-off. The Indian Air Force said that an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
The Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari left for Coonoor following the mishap.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have been briefed about the incident. The Defence Minister will reportedly brief about the crash on Thursday.