CDS Rawat chopper crash: Cabinet Committee on Security to meet

New Delhi, Dec 06: Following the military chopper crash on which Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat was on board, the Cabinet Committee on Security will meet at 6.30 pm today.

Meanwhile, defence Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement in Parliament tomorrow on the chopper crash that took place in Nilgiris today. Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 others were on board the chopper.

Singh also attended a meeting with senior officials of his ministry. Singh, for now will not travel to Tamil Nadu and will continue monitoring the situation from New Delhi itself. He also briefed the Prime Minister about the incident.

13 of the 14 onboard the chopper have died, ANI said while quoting sources. The identities of the bodies will be identified through DNA testing, the repot also said.

While the exact reason for the Military chopper crash is not known, some reports say that poor light due to fog could have been the cause.

The Indian Air Force in a tweet said that an inquiry has been over to ascertain the cause of the accident.

"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 tweet by the Indian Air Force read.

The crash happened at a distance of around 10 kilometres from the helipad where it was to land. The incident took place at around 12.20 pm today.

The chopper was heading to the defence establishment in Wellington and the crash took place in the Nilgiris shortly after the Mi-Series chopper took off from the Army base in Sulur.