Construction worker Jayaseelan was at home near the southern Indian town of Coonoor when he heard the distinctive rumble of a helicopter closing in. After hearing a crash, he rushed outside.
The craft had taken off from the nearby Sulur Air Base just before noon on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament. The base lost contact with it around 20 minutes later, just before it was due to land in the cantonment town of Wellington. Inside the machine were General Bipin Rawat - hand-picked by the government in 2019 to serve as India's first armed forces head - along with his wife and a dozen other defence personnel. Only one passenger, an air force captain, survived the accident.In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Jayaseelan and two other local residents said they struggled to reach the wrecked Russian-designed Mi-17 V5 helicopter because of the intensity of the flames engulfing it.
"Out of the first four people brought out from the crash site, one was alive," he said."He was crying in pain."
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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