IAF Helicopter Crash: Lone Survivor Group Capt Varun Singh Shifted To Bengaluru’s Command Hospital

IAF Group Captain Varun Singh’s condition is said to be critical but stable. He had undergone three operations, official sources said.

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New Delhi: The lone survivor in the IAF helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and 12 others, was shifted to Bengaluru’s Command Hospital for further treatment on Thursday, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier in the day, IAF Group Captain Varun Singh’s father had informed news agency PTI that he was being shifted to Bengaluru from the Army hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu.

As per official sources cited by PTI, Varun Singh’s condition is said to be critical but stable. He had undergone three operations, they said.

Asked about the Group Captain’s condition, his father Colonel KP Singh (retired), had told PTI “I can’t say anything about that...I am not sure.”

Group Captain Varun Singh had previously survived a life-threatening emergency while flying a Tejas aircraft during a test sortie last year. For his bravery, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra this year.

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that a tri-services inquiry led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has started an investigation into the helicopter crash that killed India’s first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Rawat, his wife, and 11 others.

Rajnath Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save Group Captain Varun Singh, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay respects to late CDS Bipin Rawat, and other deceased Armed Forces personnel at around 9 PM tonight, ANI reported. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and the three Services chiefs will also be present.

The mortal remains of CDS Rawat and other Armed Forces personnel will reach Delhi around 8 PM tonight. Some family members of the personnel killed in the military aircraft crash will also be present, reported ANI.

(With Inputs From Agencies)