Chopper Crash: 13 people were killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. (File)
The video of a helicopter vanishing into the mist appears to show the moment of the crash in Tamil Nadu in which Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was killed along with 12 others on Wednesday.
The video, sourced from locals, is apparently of the Indian Air Force Mi17 V5 chopper carrying India's top general, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 officers and personnel, which crashed into the mountains near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.
The Air Force has not commented on the authenticity of the video, which appears to capture the exact moment the helicopter fell.
The sound of the chopper draws the attention of a group of people nearby. The chopper is seen disappearing into the fog.
Moments later, the sound changes and the rotors fall silent abruptly.
There is silence when people look in the direction of the chopper and appear to wonder what happened. One person seems to ask: "What happened? Did it fall or crash?" Another voice in the video replies: "Yes".
General Rawat was on his way to Wellington from the Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore to address faculty and students at a defence institute on Wednesday afternoon.
The chopper, which took off at 11:48 am, was reported missing at around 12.08 pm. It crashed seven minutes before it was to land.
The only survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is being treated for severe burns and has been shifted from the military hospital in Wellington to Bengaluru.
An eyewitness quoted by news agency AFP said he had seen passengers falling from the helicopter before the crash, and that one person had crawled out from the wreckage.
Several investigation teams have been to the crash site. The black box or flight data recorder has been found.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh told parliament yesterday that a tri-services inquiry is under way.