Watch: Chilling final moments of chopper carrying Bipin Rawat and 13 others before the crash

New Delhi, Dec 09: A 20-second video has emerged showing the final moments of Mi-17 chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat and 13 others before it crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu yesterday.

The video shows a group of people walking along a railway track and looking up at the chopper that was flying low. Seconds after it disappeared from their view, the engine of the chopper went silent, possibly indicating the crash.

#WATCH | Final moments of Mi-17 chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat and 13 others before it crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu yesterday

(Video Source: Locals present near accident spot) pic.twitter.com/jzdf0lGU5L

— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2021

Gen Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, his wife Madhulika and 11 other armed forces personnel died on Wednesday after the military helicopter they were travelling in crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said.

The lone survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is currently under treatment at a military hospital in Wellington, it said.

The Chief of Defence Staff had left the Palam airbase in an IAF Embraer aircraft at 8:47 am and landed at Sulur airbase at 11:34 am. He took off from Sulur in a Mi-17V5 chopper at around 1148 am for Wellington, official sources said. The chopper crashed around 12.22 pm, they said.

Rawat had survived a helicopter crash six years ago, in 2015, when he was a Lt General. The Chief of Defence Staff was scheduled to deliver a lecture at Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.

Those killed in the crash included Brig LS Lidder, the military adviser to the Chief of Defence Staff, and staff officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh.

The other personnel killed are Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik Sai Teja.

The mortal remains of Gen Rawat and his wife are likely to arrive in the national capital on Thursday evening and their cremation will take place on Friday in Delhi Cantonment, officials said.