India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat was killed in a crash along with his wife and 13 others on Wednesday.
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Tributes from all quarters have been coming since the Indian Air Force confirmed the General's death. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also expressed condolences for his family members and asked her party workers to celebrate her birthday on December 9.
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According to a report by ANI, the preparations for the birthday have been stopped after Gandhi's appeal. General Bipin Rawat was on the Mi-series Army chopper on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to give a lecture at 3 pm. As per reports, he was 10 mins away from his destination when the helicopter crashed in Coonoor area in Tamil Nadu.
The Indian Air Force official Twitter handle posted, "With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident." General Rawat had taken off from Sulur Airbase for Wellington with his wife Madhulika Rawat, DA Brigadier LS Lidder, SO Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh among other security officials. Out of the 14 people on board the helicopter, 13 were confirmed dead. The sole survivor in the crash is Group Captain Varun Singh. He is reportedly undergoing treatment at Military Hospital in Wellington.
General Rawat was appointed in 2019 as the first Chief of Defence Staff. He was the one-point advisor to the government of India in matters of Army, Navy and Air Force. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind tweeted about the incident and wrote that he is deeply shocked and anguished by the demise of Rawat, his wife and 11 others.
" His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted. Rawat had joined Indian Army in December 1978. He was amde the Chief of the Army in 2017.
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