A helicopter carrying the chief of the Indian military staff, General Bipin Rawat, crashed on Wednesday in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, killing 13 people, the Indian News Agency (ANI) said.
The aircraft, which took off from the air force base in Sulur on Wednesday afternoon, was carrying 14 people on board, the same source said.
The Indian Air Force had written in a tweet that “An IAF [Indian Air Force] Mi-17V5 helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on board crashed today near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.”
An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the accident.
According to a senior Army officer, General Rawat and his wife were on board the aircraft along with other officers and were on their way to the Defence Services Staff College, a defense training institution, noting that there is no immediate information on General Rawat’s condition.
According to local media, the helicopter crashed in a forested area, apparently due to poor visibility following heavy fog.
Rawat, 63, was appointed India’s first chief of defense staff (CDS) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in late 2019. This position was created to integrate India’s three services, the army, navy, and air force.
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