An Army chopper carrying top defense officials crashed in the Nilgiris district of Coonoor in Tamil Nadu today. Bipin Rawat, the Chief of the Defence Staff was present in the chopper and 12 people died on the spot. As per the reports, the chopper had 14 people on board and it was flying from Sulur airbase to Wellington. One of the officials was rescued for now and the officials confirmed the demise of the others. All the injured are rushed to Wellington Cantonment in the Nilgiris. Bipin Rawat along with his staff and family members are said to be present in the chopper and the Indian Air Force confirmed their demise.

A rescue operation was launched from the nearest base and the locals rushed to the spot to help the rescue team. The incident took place between Coimbatore and Sulur. The video that is surfaced on the internet showed some horrific visuals The Indian Air Force issued a statement saying "An IAF Mi-17V5 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". A probe has been ordered in the incident and the investigation is on. President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath sent their condolences messages.

Bipin Rawat, Madhulika Rawat, Brig LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, NK Gurusewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, L/NK Vivek Kumar, L/NK B sai Teja, Hav Satpal are flying in the chopper as per the update.

By Siva Kumar