CDS Gen Bipin Rawat's chopper crash: Mobile phone of eyewitness sent for forensic analysis

A probe is also underway to ascertain why the photographer and a few others with him had gone to the dense forest region, which is a prohibited area due to the frequent movement of wild animals.

Screen grab from the video

Coonoor: The mobile phone of the person, who had video graphed the helicopter that crashed near here leading to the death of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 others, has been sent for forensic examination, police said on Sunday.

Joe, a wedding photographer from Coimbatore, had gone to Katteri area in the hilly Nilgiris district along with his friend Nazar and some of his family members to click photographs on December 8. Out of curiosity, he had recorded the video of the ill-fated helicopter on his mobile phone, apparently moments before it crashed. 

The video of the chopper disappearing into the fog has since gone viral on social media. 

#WATCH | Final moments of Mi-17 chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat and 13 others before it crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu yesterday

(Video Source: Locals present near accident spot) pic.twitter.com/jzdf0lGU5L

— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2021

The district police have collected Joe's mobile phone and sent it to a forensic lab in Coimbatore, as part of the investigation in the case. 

A probe is also underway to ascertain why the photographer and few others with him had gone to the dense forest region, which is a prohibited area due to the frequent movement of wild animals, they said. 

Meanwhile, the police department has sought details relating to weather and temperature in the region on the fateful day, from the Meteorological department in Chennai.

Besides, police are questioning witnesses to gather clues about the crash, they said. 

General Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed when the Mi-17VH helicopter crashed in a wooded valley at Katteri-Nanjappanchathram area in Coonoor on Wednesday. 

One IAF personnel survived the crash and is undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.