Bhopal: Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the Coonoor helicopter crash, died on December 15. His body was brought to Bhopal on Thursday afternoon and the funeral will be held on December 17 with full military honours at Bairagarh Military Area.
The body of the Captain has been brought to Bhopal by a special plane from Yelahanka Air Force, Bengaluru. Earlier, Air Force officials paid tribute to him at Yelhanka Air Force Base.
Varun Singh's father and brother were present at the base. The body of Captain Varun Singh will be kept at the Military Hospital. After which his funeral will be held on Friday afternoon, December 17.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Indian Air Force officer Varun Singh. The CM said that the final farewell will be given to Group Captain Shaheed Varun Singh with state and military honours. The relatives of the martyr will be given an honorarium of Rs. 1 crore.
The CM also spoke to his father and relatives on the phone.
Varun Pratap Singh was stationed in Wellington, Tamil Nadu. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. He was a fighter plane pilot and was working in Gorakhpur from 2007 to 2009.
Varun was awarded the Shaurya Chakra by President Ramnath Kovind on the occasion of Independence Day on August 15, 2021. This award was given to the Wing Commander for the successful landing of an aircraft from an altitude of 10,000 feet, even after the malfunction of the flying control system.
On October 12, 2020, Varun was in flight with a light combat aircraft. At an altitude of about 10,000 feet, the aircraft's flight control system malfunctioned. Varun did not lose patience during the disaster. He introduced restraint and made the successful landing of the aircraft by taking it away from the population. It also saved many lives and the plane from crashing.
On December 8, an Army helicopter MI17V5 crashed near Coonoor, with a total of 14 people on board, including the country's first CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife, leaving Group Captain Varun Singh alone to survive. He was undergoing treatment at the Army Hospital in Bengaluru. He had been on the life support system since he was injured. On December 15, he too lost the battle of life.
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