Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condoled the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who was killed after the Indian Air Force chopper carrying him crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
"I was deeply saddened to learn about the deadly helicopter crash that killed India's Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others in Tamil Nadu," Netanyahu said in a tweet.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. May they rest in peace," he added.
Earlier, the Indian Air Force said in a tweet: "With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that General Bipin Rawat, Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident."
The helicopter crashed around noon shortly after it took off from the Air Force base in Sulur, Coimbatore, for Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills. The General was heading to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course on Wednesday.
General Rawat, a veteran of counterinsurgency warfare, served in the most difficult terrains including northern and eastern commands. CDS Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978. He previously served as Chief of the Army Staff from January 2017 to December 2019.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor