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The mortal remains of those who died in the fatal helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu will be brought to Delhi today in an IAF plane.
The mortal remains reached Sulur airbase earlier today from where they will be taken to Delhi. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others, who were on board IAF's Mi-17V5 helicopter, died in the crash on Wednesday. The last rites will be held in Delhi on Friday with military honours. A funeral procession will start from Kamraj Marg to Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment on Friday. The mortal remains were today brought to Madras Regimental Centre from Military Hospital, Wellington in Nilgiris district. People paid floral tribute to the deceased here. Among the attendees were Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, who paid floral tribute to General Rawat and others at Madras Regimental Centre. The government today ordered a 'tri service' enquiry into the accident. The enquiry will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command. Informing about the timeline of the fatal crash, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha said that the IAF chopper lost contact with the Sulur base control room at around 12.08 pm, after it took off at 11.48 am from Sulur airbase. Both Houses of the Parliament observed two-minutes silence on the demise of 13 people. A video of the IAF's helicopter flying in the air, shot by locals, has also surfaced that apparently shows its final moments before the crash. Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari today reached the site of the crash. The IAF said that it has recovered critical equipment of the helicopter. According to the sources, the black box of the chopper has been recovered. Meanwhile, a team of the state's Forensic Science Department also visited the crash site. A total of 14 people were on-board the IAF's helicopter. Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone survivor of the crash and is presently on life support in Military Hospital, Wellington. Those who died in the crash include 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. Their names are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja. (ANI)
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