Minister of State for Ministry of External Affairs, V Muraleedharan is onboard the special flight that is taking the mortal remains of Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep Arakkal to Sulur airbase from Palam airport.
The Union Minister will also attend the funeral that will take place this evening at Ponnukkara in Thrissur, Kerala the hometown of the Army soldier who was among the 13 people killed when the IAF's helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8.
Those who died in the crash include Chief of Defence Staff 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.
Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone survivor of the crash and is presently on life support in Military Hospital, Wellington.
( With inputs from ANI )
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