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But he died during the 45-minute drive from the crash site in a rural village to the hospital in Pekanbaru.
He was the only one among the 11 in the ill-fated Indonesian military aircraft who perished.
The India-born Mr Chandran, 57, was founder and chief executive of listed marine fuels supplier Chemoil Energy, and ranked by Forbes magazine as the 14th richest man in Singapore.
He is survived by his wife Vivian, 53, and daughters Sharon, 31, and Ashley, 20.
His body was moved to the Mount Vernon funeral parlour here at 5pm yesterday. His family turned up there about 11/2 hours later.
A private funeral will be held this morning, and a memorial in the late afternoon.
Villagers of Desa Lubuk Ogung near the crash site had a shock when the ageing Indonesian Air Force helicopter came to grief in an oil palm plantation near their homes on a cloudy Tuesday.
Housewife Suratni, 55, who lives 10m from the scene, said in Bahasa: 'It was hovering low, just above the trees, making a deafening sound. I thought it might crash into my house. Then suddenly, boom! It came down.'
More than 20 sarong-clad men rushed to the scene.
Farmer Is Ropel, 30, and his brothers were among the first to get to the fallen craft, a Sikorsky Twin Pack S58T.
He said they were shocked to find several men in it, slumped at one end.
Mr Is said: 'One looked like a Westerner, another an Indian. The others looked like locals. All were alive and moaning. The Indian asked if everyone was OK.'
Mr Chandran was the only Indian on board.
Mr Is' brother, village chief Dam Heri, 49, who said he helped pull Mr Chandran out, said the businessman appeared the least seriously hurt and was talking the most.
Mr Dam added in Bahasa: 'He spoke in English, which I did not understand. I was surprised to find out that he died.'
The injured were ferried to hospital in an ambulance, three cars and a police car.
Besides Mr Chandran, the other civilians were Chemoil vice-president for business development Terence Gidlow and the company's business associates Alexander Taslim, Harino T. Kusumo, Hendri T., Andre Hendrik and Michael. Four Indonesian Air Force crew members were also on board.
It is believed that the helicopter had engine trouble and was trying to land.
When The Straits Times visited the site yesterday, the helicopter's nose was on the ground and its tail in the air. The area was cordoned off by the Indonesian Air Force.
Villagers said chartered planes flying over the area were a common sight, but military aircraft were not.
The Indonesian armed forces said on Tuesday that Mr Chandran and Mr Gidlow had been on a 'joint flight' programme which lets civilians take flights in military aircraft.
A spokesman for the hospital in Pekanbaru said five of the injured had been sent to Singapore for treatment and the Indonesian air force men were recovering.
Meanwhile, Chemoil Energy assured its customers and investors that its operations would carry on, as would operations at its new Helios Terminal on Jurong Island.
Chemoil's Singapore-listed shares dipped to 46.5 US cents shortly after markets opened yesterday before rallying to close half a US cent higher at 48.5 US cents. It hit 50 US cents during the day.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NICHOLAS FANG
