IAF helicopter crash: Pradeep Arakkal from Kerala among 13 dead in Coonoor mishap

Indian Air Force officer Pradeep Arakkal from Kerala was among the 13 persons, inclusive of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, who passed away in the IAF helicopter crash at Coonoor in Tami Nadu on Wednesday. Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal who hailed from Ponukkara in Thrissur was on board the chopper as a flight gunner, a top source said. 

The 37-year-old IAF officer is the son of Radhakrishnan and Kumari of Arakkal House and he joined the Forces in 2004. Married to Sreelakshmi, the couple had two children, aged 5 and 2. Reports suggest that the bereaved family of the deceased Officer received the ill-fated information around 8 pm, following which his brother left for Coimbatore immediately. 

IAF officer Pradeep Arakkal passes away in IAF helicopter crash in Coonoor

Notably, Pradeep has served various units of the IAF, since he joined the Forces in 2004 and had been a part of multiple anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. He has also contributed to the flood relief operations in Uttarakhand in 2013 and search and rescue operations in the Kerala floods in 2018. The team's endeavour and diligence in the aforementioned operations had won praises from authorities, including President Kovind. 

His family told Republic Media Network that he had visited his family a week ago to celebrate his son's second birthday and tagged along with his father to a hospital for treatment. He had resumed duty only four days prior to the mishap on December 8. 

The family further shared that IAF officer Pradeep rang his mother on the morning of the unfortunate day to share the joy of accompanying CDS Rawat.

CDS General Bipin Rawat passes away in helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu

CDS General Bipin Rawat, Madhulika Rawat and 11 others died in an IAF helicopter crash when the 63-year-old Rawat along with his wife and staff was travelling to Wellington Staff College to deliver a lecture at 2:45 PM. All communications with the IAF Mi-17V5 chopper were lost just minutes before the tragic crash that happened near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. In fact, reports suggest that the crash took place only 10 minutes away from the destination - Wellington.

Lone survivor - Wing Commander Varun Singh

Apart from the CDS, others on board included the CDS' wife Madhulika Rawat, Defence Assistant to CDS Brigadier LS Lidder, SO to CDS Lt. Col. Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Havaldar Satpal. The lone survivor, Wing Commander Varun Singh, is currently battling for his life at a military hospital in Wellington.