General Bipin Rawat / File Photo

India’s first Chief of Defence General Bipin Rawat has died after the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, killed 13 on Wednesday.

General Rawat’s wife, travelling with him, was also killed,  reports the NDTV.

“His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter.

Rawat is India’s first chief of defence staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and is seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 63-year-old was travelling in a Russian-made Mi-17 chopper that met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said on Twitter.

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