Srinagar Dec 9: A chilling video purportedly of the last moments of the Mi 17 V 5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force that crashed on Wednesday leading to the death of Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other personnel has emerged on social media.
As per the IAF, Gen Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course at the time the helicopter with a crew of 4 members carrying the CDS and 9 other passengers met with the tragic accident near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC the lone survivor in the accident with burn injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.
On Thursday, news agency ANI shared a 19-second video purportedly of the ill-fated helicopter moments before the crash.
A glimpse of the chopper can be seen before it disappears in the dense fog with a bang possibly of the sound of the chopper hitting the ground.
#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
Netizens while reacting to the video wondered the chopper should have taken off at all given the bad visibility.
One can see the chopper disappear into thick fog
Question arises what are the rules for travelling with VIPs when visibility is so low ?
As per some, the chopper caught fire & then landed but that’s not clear from this video
— Pallavi (@pallavict) December 9, 2021
Seems to be flying very low. Weather looks awful. Not sure if It was the right decision to be flying in a Hepter in TN at this time of the year. 😞
— Avnish (@AvnishR30) December 9, 2021
Weather always plays spoilsport. Something about nature is all powerful and shouldn’t have been taken lightly. Investigations must be done to see why this happened. Too many unanswered questions. Aren’t there radars available to tell if the chopper is flying too close to ground?
— Adi | 🇮🇳 First | (@AdityaUvaacha) December 9, 2021