The Indian Air Force on Wednesday confirmed that Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat was on- board an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter that met with an accident earlier today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
The IAF has ordered an inquiry into 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," tweeted IAF.
According to sources, along with CDS Rawat, his staff and some family members were also on-board the chopper that crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu.
Search and rescue operations are underway, said sources.
More details are awaited.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor