Helicopter crash: Bodies of 4 Army officials, 2 IAF personnel identified; mortal remains handed over to families

Of the 14 who were on board the military helicopter, 13 were killed in the horrific Mi-17V5 crash near Coonoor town on Wednesday

Defence personnel carry a flag-draped casket of one of the 13 victims of the helicopter crash after it arrived at Palam airport in New Delhi. AP

The bodies of six more Armed Forces personnel –2 belonging to the Indian Army and four of the IAF — who were killed in the IAF chopper crash near Coonoor have been identified and are being transported to their respective home towns, military officials said on Saturday

The officials whose bodies have been identified are Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh.

A senior military official was quoted as saying, “The mortal remains were released to family members this morning. Efforts to positively identify remaining mortal remains are continuing.”

The bodies are being taken to the home towns of the personnel by air for last rites with appropriate military honour, the officials added.

Prior to departure, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the base hospital to pay tribute to the personnel, reported NDTV.

As per officials, Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep’s coffin will land at 11 am at Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu from where it would be taken to his hometown Thrissur.

Similarly, Wing Commander Chauhan’s remains will reach his hometown Agra today. Lance Naik B Sai Teja’s coffin will be flown to Bengaluru airport by 1 pm and then taken to his home in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.

India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and his Defence Adviser Brigadier LS Lidder were cremated with full military honours at Delhi’s Brar Square Crematorium on Friday evening.

The mortal remains of all the 13 people killed in the air accident were brought to Delhi from Sulur in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening, a day after the crash.

The unidentified bodies were kept in the mortuary of the Army Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment.

The Army and the Air Force carried out the identification of the bodies keeping in mind the sensitivities and emotional well-being of the family members.

The bodies of the remaining four — Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar and Havildar Satpal — are yet to be identified.
The sole survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is on life support at the IAF Command Hospital in Bengaluru.

With inputs from PTI

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