Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday paid tributes to Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others who died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu a day ago.
Their bodies were brought to Delhi on Thursday night.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the three service chiefs also paid their respects to those who died in the crash at the Palam Air Force base in the Capital.
The funeral procession of Rawat and his wife will take place at 2 pm on Friday, NDTV reported.
An Indian Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter had crashed near Coonoor town in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district on Wednesday, killing 13 out of the 14 people on board.
The only survivor, Air Force group Captain Varun Singh, is on life support. He had been moved to a hospital in Bengaluru for treatment.
The Indian Air Force has ordered an inquiry into the helicopter crash, the defence minister had told the Parliament earlier on Thursday. The flight data recorder of the helicopter has been recovered.
Singh had said that the investigation will be led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, who is a helicopter pilot himself. “The inquiry team reached Wellington [in Tamil Nadu] yesterday [Wednesday] itself and started the investigation,” he had added
Recounting the incident, Singh said that the helicopter in which Rawat was travelling was supposed to land at Wellington at 12.15 pm but the contact with the chopper was lost at 12.08 pm.
“Subsequently, few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they observed the wreckage of military helicopter engulfed in flames,” he said. “Rescue teams from the local administration in the vicinity reached the site and attempted to recover the survivors from the crash site.”
Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid tributes to Rawat and others. A two-minute silence was also observed in the Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that they have decided not to protest against the suspension of 12 Upper House MPs in honour of Rawat and others, reported ANI.
The helicopter, which took off from Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon, was on its way to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, nearly three kilometres north of Coonoor, where it crashed.
Visuals from the spot in Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area of Coonoor showed wreckage of the helicopter scattered and rescuers retrieving bodies.
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