Bodies of five more armed forces personnel killed in chopper crash identified

PTI, Dec 11, 2021, 9:13 AM IST

New Delhi: The bodies of five more armed forces personnel, killed in the IAF chopper crash near Coonoor, were identified and they are being transported to their respective home towns, military officials said on Saturday.

Efforts to ”positively identify” remaining mortal remains are continuing, they said.

The armed forces personnel whose bodies were identified in the last few hours are Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Pradeep, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, JWO Rana Pratap Das, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar. ”The mortal remains of the five personnel were released to close family members this morning,” said a senior military official.

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

Gen 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.