Ker CM condoles death of Air Force officer from state in Coonoor helicopter crash

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday expressed his condolence over the death of Air Force officer A Pradeep hailing from the state, who along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 11 others perished in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

Mourning the Warrant Officer's death, the Chief Minister in a Facebook post, said Pradeep had bravely volunteered for rescue operations during the 2018 floods in the state.

State Revenue Minister K Rajan, who visited the Air Force officer's home on Thursday, said Pradeep's name would always be remembered with gratitude in Kerala.

The minister, in a Facebook post, conveyed his condolences to the officer's family members.

Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju also took to Facebook to express his grief and convey his condolences to the bereaved family of the Air Force officer.

Pradeep joined the Air Force in 2004 and served in various parts of the country and participated in a number of missions.

On Wednesday, he was serving as the Flight Gunner on the CDS' flight.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) had left the Palam airbase in an IAF Embraer aircraft at 8.47 AM on Wednesday and landed at Sulur airbase at 11.34 am. He took off from Sulur in a Mi-17V5 chopper at around 11.48 am for Wellington, official sources said.

The chopper crashed around 12.22 PM, they said.

The lone survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is currently under treatment at a military hospital in Wellington.

The CDS was scheduled to deliver a lecture at Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)