General Bipin Rawat, former army chief and India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, and his wife died with 11 others on board a military helicopter when it crashed in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu amid dense fog on Wednesday.
The tragedy, which occurred sometime around 12.15pm, killed 13 of the 14 people on board — nine passengers and a crew of five — the Indian Air Force said. Group Captain Varun Singh, lone survivor and crew member, was being treated for severe burns at a military hospital in Wellington, Ooty.
“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 incident,” the air force tweeted at 6.03pm, confirming the news of the death.
