Chief of Defense Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other people on board an Indian Air Force helicopter died in a crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said.

“Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), was on a visit to Defense Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today”, it said. The last rites of General Rawat will be performed in New Delhi.

An IAF chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his staff and at least one family member has crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor, with no information yet about the condition of the CDS. Thirteen of the fourteen personnel have been confirmed dead after the crash in the Nilgiris, shortly after the Mi-series chopper took off from the army base in Sulur. Confirming the incident, the Indian Air Force tweeted:

“An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.” Media said the Union Cabinet is currently on, and Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the incident.

PM Narendra Modi will chair the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting at 6.30 pm in the wake of the Coonoor helicopter tragedy. Meanwhile, Army Chief General MM Naravane briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the crash of the military chopper. The Defense Minister visited CDS Bipin Rawat’s residence to brief the family of the current situation.