IAF Chopper crash: Group Capt Varun Singh being shifted to Bengaluru for further treatment

Indian Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 others, has been shifted to Bengaluru for further treatment. The Group Captain was taken to Bengaluru from the Army hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu via road on Thursday afternoon. Captain Varun Singh was taken to the hospital in Wellington on Wednesday after the chopper crash took place near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu earlier in the day. 

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Parliament that Singh was on life support in the Military Hospital and all efforts were being made to save his life. Following the minister’s formal statement, the officials have now moved the lone survivor of the accident to Bengaluru. Talking to PTI over the phone, Captain Varun Singh's father Colonel K P Singh (Retd), who is a resident of Bhopal, had confirmed that he was being shifted to Bengaluru.

Lt Colonel Ishan R (Retd), who lives next door to Col K P Singh's residence at Sun City on the Airport Road in Bhopal, earlier said that Singh’s family was in belief of his recovery. He said that Col K P Singh and his wife Uma were in Mumbai at the place of their younger son Tanuj, who is Lt Commander in the Navy when they got the unfortunate news on Wednesday. “I spoke to Colonel K P Singh this morning. He said his son was a fighter and will come out victorious (from the tragedy)," he said. He further recalled that Varun Singh had earlier survived a life-threatening emergency while flying a Tejas aircraft during a test sortie last year. It is noteworthy, that Group Captain Varun Singh is the recipient of the Shaurya Chakra, accorded to him on Independence Day, 2021, for an act of "exceptional gallantry".

Tri-Service probe ordered into IAF helicopter crash

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, during his formal statement in the parliament, informed that a Tri-Service probe have been ordered into the IAF helicopter crash. "Gen Bipin Rawat was on a scheduled visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington to interact with the Student Officers. The Air Force Mi 17 V 5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11:48 AM yesterday and was expected to land at Wellington by 12:15 PM. Air Traffic Control at Sulur Air Base lost contact with the helicopter at approximately 12:08 PM,” he said while revealing that the IAF had ordered a tri-services enquiry headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh. He is currently serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command. 

Image: BharatRakshak/ REPUBLICWORLD