The late Bipin Rawat, India's first Army Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Defense Staff (CDS). Army MI-17 helicopter crashed on Wednesday. Among them were his wife CDS and a few other army officers. According to Air Force sources, wife Bipin Rawat is among the 13 dead.

An army helicopter crashed in the Nilgiris forest in Kunnur, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Bipin Rawat was rescued and taken to hospital in a critical condition. According to news agency ANI, 13 of the 14 people aboard the helicopter died. Among these 13 are Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika. Group Captain Varun Singh was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

An Army MI-17V-5 helicopter crashed on a tea garden in Nilgiris at around 1pm on Wednesday. Krishnaswamy, a resident of Kunnur, said he first heard a loud noise. As soon as he left the house, he was startled by a noise and a helicopter hit a tree. The helicopter caught fire due to the impact of the collision. Like a ball of fire it hits another tree. Krishnaswamy claims that after seeing this incident, they rushed towards the helicopter. When you get there, you see some people trying to get out of the crashed helicopter. Most of their bodies were burnt.

After that, everyone jumped into the rescue operation. The fire brigade comes.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited Bipin's residence in Delhi and met his family. Shortly afterwards, the army chief was seen entering Rawat's official residence. The security of his house has also been enhanced.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has left for the site. Air Chief VR Chowdhury is also going.