Chennai: The mortal remains of Chief of the Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 defence personnel, who were killed in an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor, reached New Delhi from the Sulur IAF airbase in Coimbatore on Thursday evening.
Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the accident, was also rushed to Sulur by road from where he was airlifted to Bengaluru for advanced treatment.
Thousands of people lined up on either side of the road leading from Wellington in Coonoor to Sulur and paid a tearful homage to the departed Army and IAF personnel. As 13 ambulances carrying the coffins of the soldiers and Madhulika Rawat passed in a convoy, the people showered flower petals on them. Emotional slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Veera Vanakkam, Veera Vanakkam’ (Heroic salute, Heroic salute) and ‘Jai Hind’ rent the air as people from different religious faiths stood shoulder to shoulder to bid farewell to General Rawat who had met a tragic end in their soil. En route, one of the ambulances met with a minor accident near Mettupalayam and the coffin was quickly transferred on to another ambulance and sent to Sulur.
Shopkeepers in Coonoor have announced a dawn to dusk shutdown on Friday as a mark of respect.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and senior defence officers paid homage by laying wreaths to the caskets containing the mortal remains of officers.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force commenced investigations into the tragedy. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari visited the crash site.
Sources said the IAF combed the crash site and managed to recover the crucial devices that could provide clues to the cause of the accident.
The Army has taken control over the entire area of the crash site.
Meanwhile, defence sources said they are verifying the authenticity of a short video clip of a turbulent helicopter, which is being widely shared on social media platforms as that of the final moments of the Mi-17V5.
