Coimbatore/Bhopal: The lone survivor in the IAF helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and 12 others, was airlifted to Bengaluru Command Hospital in HAL Road for higher treatment.
IAF Group Captain Varun Singh was shifted to Bengaluru from the Army hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu, his father said.
His condition is said to be critical but stable and Singh had undergone three operations so far, they added.
Earlier in the day, talking to the media, the Group Captain's father Colonel K P Singh (retired) had confirmed that his son was being airlifted to Bengaluru and refrained from saying anything about his health condition.
"I can't say anything about that...I am not sure," Colonel Singh said.
Lt Colonel Ishan R (retired), who lives next door to Col K P Singh's residence at Sun City on the Airport Road in the Madhya Pradesh capital, said he was hopeful the injured officer will recover.
Also Read: Watch: Helicopter carrying CDS Bipin Rawat seconds before the crash
He said Col K P Singh and his wife Uma were in Mumbai at the place of their younger son Tanuj, who is a Lt Commander in the Navy, when they received information about the unfortunate incident on Wednesday.
"I spoke to Colonel K P Singh this morning. He said his son was a fighter and will come out victorious (from the tragedy)," he said.
He recalled that Group Captain Varun Singh had earlier survived a life-threatening emergency while flying a Tejas aircraft during a test sortie last year. For his bravery, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra this year.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told Parliament that a tri-services inquiry led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has started investigation into the helicopter crash that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Rawat, his wife and 11 others.
Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save Group Captain Varun Singh, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.
(With agency inputs)
