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India's Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 others were killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday in the state of Tamil Nadu, the country's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said.
"I am deeply saddened by the sudden death of Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel in the wake of today's extremely unfortunate accident in Tamil Nadu," he said.
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The minister added that Rawat's death is an irreplaceable loss to the Armed Forces and the entire country, expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and recalled that in his tenure Rawat drew up a plan to unite India's military troops.
"Pray for the health of Captain Varun Singh, who is currently in the military hospital in Wellington," the minister said, referring to the sole survivor of the incident.
With deepest regret learnt about sadden demise of Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat & 11 other officers in the helicopter crash today. India has lost its great patriot and dedicated hero. pic.twitter.com/3tjpBfxzVj
— Nikolay Kudashev ���� (@NKudashev) December 8, 2021
According to NDTV media, 14 people were on board the helicopter.
Rawat was the first to take up the post of the chief of the defense staff, established in December 2019.
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