Chopper crash: Bodies of all remaining 10 armed forces personnel identified

The bodies of all the remaining 10 armed forces personnel killed in the IAF chopper crash near Coonoor were positively identified and six of them were handed over to their families, officials said

The bodies of all the remaining 10 armed forces personnel killed in the IAF chopper crash near Coonoor were positively identified and six of them were handed over to their families, military officials said on Saturday.

The armed forces personnel whose bodies were identified and then sent to their home towns in IAF aircraft are Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Pradeep, Wing Commander P S Chauhan, JWO Rana Pratap Das, Squadron Leader K Singh, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar.

The "positive identification" of the remaining four mortal remains was done through DNA testing and they will be handed over to the family members on Sunday, an official said on Saturday night.

It is understood that the process of identification of the four bodies was completed late in the evening.

While the last rites of Lt Col Harjinder Singh are likely take place at Brar Square crematorium in Delhi on Sunday, the bodies of Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, and Naik Jitendra Kumar will be transported to their home towns by a military aircraft.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and his Defence Adviser Brigadier LS Lidder were among the 13 people killed in the crash.

Gen Rawat, his wife and Brig Lidder were cremated with full military honours at Delhi's Brar Square Crematorium on Friday evening.

The mortal remains of all the 13 people killed in the air accident were brought to Delhi from Sulur in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening, a day after the crash.

The Army and the Air Force carried out the identification of the bodies keeping in mind the sensitivities and emotional well-being of the family members, the officials said.