Pakistani military leaders condole death of Indian CDS in copter crash

Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza on Wednesday offered their condolences to the Indian nation on the death of Indian Chief of Defence General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash, the military said.

"General Nadeem Raza, CJCSC & General Qamar Javed Bajwa, COAS express condolences on [the] tragic death of CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.

Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other people were killed after a military helicopter they were travelling in crashed in southern India earlier today.

Also read: CDS Gen Bipin Rawat among 13 dead as IAF chopper crashes in India's Tamil Nadu

"With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident," IAF said on its official Twitter handle.

The CDS was travelling from an Indian Air Force base in Sulur to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to deliver a lecture when the incident took place.

Video footage showed rescue workers dousing steaming wreckage in a wooded area.

Rawat was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in late 2019. The position was set up with the aim of integrating India's three services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.