The final video of the Mi-17 chopper carrying Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 others before it crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday has surfaced online. The video captured by tourists gives a glimpse of the helicopter before it disappeared in the mist, as a group of people look at the chopper. One of the people is heard asking in Tamil, ‘Did it crash?’ To this, another person replied ‘yes’.

General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 11 others were killed when the chopper crashed on its way to Wellington from the Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore. General Rawat was on his way to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course. The Mi17 V5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11:48 am on Wednesday and was expected to land at Wellington by 12:15 pm. But the chopper went off the radar around 12.08 pm. The only survivor is Group Captain Varun Singh, who is being treated for severe burns at the military hospital in Wellington. Reportedly, the chopper crashed 10 minutes before its landing time. The authorities have launched a probe into the incident.

#WATCH | Final moments of Mi-17 chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat and 13 others before it crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu yesterday

(Video Source: Locals present near accident spot) pic.twitter.com/jzdf0lGU5L

— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2021