A helicopter carrying Indian Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 military personnel crashed on Wednesday near Coonoor, Nilgiris district, according to Indian local media.
Reports said there were 14 people, five crew and nine passengers were on board.
About five bodies have been found in the crash site, while three people on board the helicopter have been evaluated alive and were transferred to hospital.
The health condition of the patients sent to hospital continues to remain critical, said health officials.
The chopper crashed shortly after taking off from an air force base in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
According to eyewitnesses, more bodies have been found trapped under the debris of the chopper.
The Indian Air Force confirmed the incident on Twitter and said an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
A meeting of senior Defence Ministry officials is currently underway regarding the incident. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also monitoring the situation. He has already briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the crash. The Air Force Chief ACM VR Chaudhari is also heading toward the crash site in Tamil Nadu.
