An IAF chopper carrying General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 12 other personnel met with an accident near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. The chopper was supposed to reach Wellington from Sulur. This unfortunate incident took place on Wednesday at Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. As per sources, 13 out of 14 personnel did not survive the crash. Bipin Rawat and his wife are among the 13 deceased victims. The sources also stated that Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was flying the chopper. He was the Commanding Officer of the 109 Helicopter Unit.

It was an Mi-17V5 Airforce Chopper, it has 14 passengers onboard. The helicopter took off from Sulur Air Force station at around 11.50 A.M and this mishappening took place after 30 minutes of its departure. The Mi-17V5 was found crashed in the forest situated in proximity to a tribal settlement near Coonoor.

As per reports, there was bad weather in Coonoor at that time which might be the cause of the accident. The rescue team found it quite tough to reach the accident spot. The mishappening took place amid the dense forest, the ground surface was uneven and surrounded by thick vegetation. There was no certain direct path to reach the spot. The locals have suggested taking the forest path to reach the accident spot.

When the ambulance and army arrived, It was found that the bodies of the victims were scorched. Eleven out of fourteen bodies were recovered from the accident site. The rescue team is still searching for the remaining passenger.

An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of this shocking accident.