‘Black Box’ of Gen Rawat’s Crashed Chopper Recovered
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night led tributes to Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, and the 11 who died in a chopper crash.
You all know about the tragic death of CDS General Bipin Rawat. Due to the horrific nature of the crash, only four bodies have been identified so far. It is of Gen Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier LS Lidder, and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar. The vehicles were taking the bodies from the hospital to the Sulur Air Force base in Coimbatore, from where they were flown to Palam Airbase in Delhi. A large crowd of locals gathered to welcome the convoy as it reached the Sulur base. People were seen shouting 'Bharat Mata ki jai' and showering the road with flower petals. When the bodies reached Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval went there to pay their final respects to Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, and those who died in the crash. Also present were the Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force, Navy and Army. The others will be kept at the Army Base Hospital in Tamil Nadu till identified. The 'black box' in the chopper which records all flight data of the crashed chopper was recovered. The data will be examined by a team lead Air Marshal Manvendra Singh to ascertain the cause of the crash. Group Captain Varun Singh SC - the sole survivor - was being treated at the military hospital in Wellington, Coonoor. He has been airlifted to an Air Force Hospital in Bengaluru. The Group Captain is stable but remains in critical condition. Gen Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, will be cremated with full military honours today. Gen Rawat was India’s first CDS. Now that he has died, it is not clear who will be his successor. The post will be filled in the next 7-10 days.
