The bodies will be sent by air to airports nearest to the homes of the defence personnel. FileNew Delhi: The coffins of six defence personnel killed in the chopper crash that also claimed the life of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat will reach their homes today.Thirteen lives were lost in the tragic chopper crash in Tamil Nadu. Such was the severity of the crash that only three bodies could be initially identified – General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder.The remaining bodies are at the Army Base Hospital in Delhi and close family members were called in to help with the identification.Bodies of six defence personnel killed in the crash have now been identified – Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh.The bodies will be sent by air to airports nearest to their homes. Prior to departure, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the base hospital to pay tribute to the personnel.Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep’s coffin will land at 11 am at Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu from where it would be taken to his hometown Thrissur, about 124 km away.The coffin of Wing Commander Chauhan will reach his hometown Agra around 9.45 am.A plane carrying Junior Warrant Officer Das’s coffin will reach Bhubaneswar at 1 pm; the body will then be taken to his village in Odisha’s Angul district.Lance Naik B Sai Teja’s coffin will be flown to Bengaluru airport by 1 pm and then taken to his home in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district. The coffin of Lance Naik Kumar will reach the Gaggal airport in Himachal Pradesh and then be taken to his home in Kangra district. Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh’s coffin will reach Rajasthan’s Pilani airport by 11.45 am and then taken to his home in Jhunjhunu district.The funeral of General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brigadier Lidder was held at Delhi yesterday.The bodies of four defence personnel killed in the chopper crash – Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar and Havildar Satpal – are yet to be identified.
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