IAF chopper crash: Tri-service inquiry likely to be completed in 2 weeks
The constitution of the tri-service inquiry was announced by defence minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament, a day after the tragic crash. The Indian Air Force urged people to not speculate over the reason for the crash based on misinformation.
The tri-service inquiry into the crash of the helicopter leading to 14 deaths, including that of India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, is likely to be completed within the next two weeks, news agency ANI reported citing government sources. The investigation is being headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh. A Brigadier-rank officer each from the Indian Army and the Indian Navy are also there in the investigation team. Work to find out what caused the copter crash began a day after the accident.
The constitution of the tri-service inquiry was announced by defence minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament, a day after the tragic crash. The Indian Air Force urged people to not speculate over the reason for the crash based on misinformation.
According to the information given out by the defence ministry, there was no SOS from the copter which flew from Sulur airbase at 11.48am on December 8. It was scheduled to reach its destination, the Wellington airbase, at 12.15pm. The ministry said the Sulur airbase lost contact with the helicopter at around 12.08pm, minutes before the copter was to land.
Soon after the tragic crash, a video of apparently the final moment of the copter appeared on social media. The videographer, a local wedding photographer who went to that area to take photos, said the weather at that time was very bad. In the video too, the copter was seen vanishing amid the fog.
Several people have been arrested in the aftermath of the incident for making objectionable comments regarding the death of the defence personnel. IAF Group Captain Varun Singh was the lone survivor of the crash until Wednesday when he succumbed to his injuries, after battling for a week.
