A military helicopter carrying Indian defense chief General Bipin Rawat crashed in southern India on Wednesday, killing at least four people, and officials said they were still checking to see if he was among the dead.
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Rawat was travelling from an Indian Air Force base in Sulur to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to deliver a lecture. Hill station Coonoor is along the flight path.
The Air Force said that Rawat, who had previously served as India's Chief of Army Staff, was travelling in an Mi-17V5 helicopter. India has dozens of the Russian military chopper that are widely used by the military as well as top government ministers visiting defenדe locations.
Video footage from Reuters partner ANI and local media showed rescue workers dousing steaming wreckage of the mangled chopper in a wooded area.
"An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the Air Force said in a tweet.
