By Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai, Dec 8, : Gloom fell on the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district Wednesday afternoon following the news that the Indian Air Force (IAF), chopper carrying high-ranking military officials, including Chief Of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat went down.
Rawat, Madhulika Rawat, and other passengers were in the chopper.
He was scheduled to give a lecture at 2.45 p.m.in the Sekhon Hall at the DSSC.
The 14-person chopper was carrying 14 people when it took off from the Sulur Air Base near Coimbatore.It was then on its way to Coonoor.The chopper was just a few minutes from landing when it hit a tree and crashed.
This set off a fire that caused several deaths.
Eyewitnesses said that it was misty and that the chopper may have hit a tree, causing it to go down.
He claimed that he saw the chopper upside down and on fire when he reached the spot.
Official figures on the number of people who died or were injured have yet to be released.
“Comprehensive checks would have been made on the helicopter.A standby helicopter would also have been available.The weather conditions would have been checked.A former official of the Indian Air Force, (IAF) said that if the weather at Wellington was not ideal, they might have tried to make an attempt, but it was too late.”
According to the official, the crash could have been caused by weather or technical problems.
The DSSC is a joint service institution that operates in accordance to directives issued by Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Its Commandant is responsible for the Committee through the Chairman of Joint Training Committee.
The staff course is designed to train selected officers in the three services in command, staff, and war functions in their own service, interservice, and joint service environment.
It also provides general education that will enable them to be effective in command and/or staff appointments.
The DSSC is one the few institutions that offer training to aspiring staff officers of all three services as well as selected paramilitary officers and foreign officers.
The DSSC has a rich history and can be traced back to 1905, when it was established at Devlali (now Maharashtra).
It moved to Quetta (now Pakistan) in 1907.
In 1947, the College moved back to India and is now the home of the joint services course for all three services.
Many of the graduates have gone on to become great military leaders and senior cabinet ministers as well as civil administrators.
According to the DSSC, Olusegun Obasanjo (President of Nigeria, 1999-2007), Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, 2015 to this date), Sitiveni Rauka (President of Fiji, 1992-1999), and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, 2019, to this date).
(V.Jagannathan can be contacted at [email protected])
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