United Nations: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is deeply saddened by the death of General Bipin Rawat and expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased in the helicopter crash in the Nilgiri Hills. According to sources, Guterres conveyed his profound condolences to the relatives of the victims as well as the people and government of India through Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief's spokesman.
Rawat represented the United Nations with distinction and that his work was well-received. In 2008 and 2009, he was the brigade commander of the UN peacekeeping mission's North Kivu Brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu killed Rawat, the Indian Armed Forces' chief of defence staff, and 11 others, including his wife and defence assistant. Rawat, who is 63 years old, became India's first chief of defence staff on December 31, 2019, after serving as army commander for a full three years. In December 1978, CDS Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army.
The Indian Air Force announced the tragic news on Twitter on Wednesday, saying, "With profound regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other personnel on board have died in the regrettable mishap." The helicopter crashed around noon immediately after it took off from the Air Force base in Sulur, Coimbatore, for Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills.
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