IAF chopper crash: Identification of mortal remains of 6 others completed

New Delhi, Dec 11: A day after first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and Defence Adviser Brigadier LS Lidder were laid to rest with full state honours, the identification of the four Indian Army Force personnel and two soldiers of the Indian Army killed in the chopper crash in Coonor has been completed, as per news agency ANI.

The mortal remains of the four Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel JWO Pradeep A, Wg Cdr PS Chauhan, JWO Rana Pratap Das and Sqn Leader Kuldeep Singh and soldiers Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik B Sai Teja is complete and will be brought to their hometowns on Saturday.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others, who were on board IAF's Mi-17V5 helicopter, died in the crash on Wednesday.

"The mortal remains have been released to close family members this morning. Mortal remains will move by air for last rites with appropriate military honour. Wreaths will be laid at the Base Hospital, Delhi Cantonment prior to departure," ANI cited an army official as saying.

A total of 14 people were onboard the IAF's helicopter. Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone survivor of the crash and he is treated at Command Hospital in Bengaluru.

Those who died in the crash include General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew.

Their names are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik B Sai Teja.

The government has ordered a tri-service inquiry into the Mi 17V5 crash. on Wednesday that claimed the life of Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 others. Officials said all aspects relating to the flight would be probed. The chopper's flight data recorder has been recovered.

The tri-services team investigating the incident is focusing on all possible reasons including whether a human error caused the accident, people familiar with the development said on Thursday. The black box, comprising the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force was recovered from the crash site on Thursday.

While the CVR will provide details about the communication between the pilots and the air traffic control, the FDR will provide information like altitude, speed and other technical data of the chopper.