Gen Bipin Rawat Chopper Crash Live Updates: Lone survivor IAF Group Captain Varun Singh shifted to Bengaluru Command Hospital

The rescue team found the terrain tough. “There was no road to take the fire service engine to douse the flames. We had to fetch water in pots from the nearby river and houses. The operation was so difficult as we had to prise open the jagged pieces of the chopper to rescue people or retrieve the bodies,” Murali said

Condolences over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from several countries, including the US, Russia, China and Pakistan.Gen Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other people on board an Indian Air Force helicopter died in a crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Air Force said.The US Embassy here extended its deepest condolences to the Rawat family and the families of those who perished in the crash.As India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Rawat spearheaded a historic period of transformation in the Indian military, the US mission said in a statement.Gen Rawat was a strong friend and partner of the United States, overseeing a major expansion of India's defense cooperation with the US military, it said. "In September, he spent five days travelling throughout the US as part of a counterpart visit with General Mark Milley to discuss military developments and opportunities to enhance our cooperation with like-minded countries. His legacy will continue on," the Embassy said.

In a condolence message on the demise of India's first CDS General Bipin Rawat, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III on Wednesday (local time) said that they are "deeply saddened by this loss". "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Rawat family and the families of the other victims of the crash. We are deeply saddened by this loss," said Austin.

CDS General Bipin Rawat was alive and able to say his name when he was extricated from the wreckage of the Mi-17V5 chopper along with another passenger, later identified as Group Captain Varun Singh, said a senior leading fireman who was among the first to reach the crash site near Coonoor on Wednesday.

Amid heavy security deployed at the residence of India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, at Kumarasami Kamraj Marg here, several VVIPs arrived to offer their condolences to the bereaved family.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday expressed his condolences over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who along with his wife was among the 13 persons who were killed after an IAF chopper they were travelling in crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is "deeply saddened" by the death of Generl Bipin Rawat, India's Chief of Defence Services and a veteran of UN peacekeeping operations, according to his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. "He served the United Nations with distinction, and we fully appreciated that work," Dujarric said on Wednesday.Guterres "expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families and the deceased to the people and government of India", he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday visited the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington and held a meeting with the defence officials present there, informed Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Earlier today, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was also scheduled to visit the spot in the Nilgiris, Coonoor where a Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others crashed.

The Uttarakhand government declared a three-day state mourning over the death of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash on Wednesday. General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force said.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu along with 12 others on Wednesday, had paid his last visit to Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, just less than a month ago. During his visit to the city on November 15, he saw a demonstration of the prototypes of weaponised drones (hexacopter) and loitering munition made by a company here, where he also spoke about non-contact warfare and its restructuring in armed forces. He had come in a helicopter at the equipment maker's campus located on Amravati Road. The equipment was manufactured by the Solar Group of Companies, which includes Solar Industries India Ltd and Economic Explosives Ltd. (PTI)

Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday sought a probe by a senior Supreme Court judge into the helicopter crash near Coonoor that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others. The former Union Minister termed the incident as "shocking" and a big caution to national security. (PTI)

Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu condoled the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and said his outstanding service to the nation will always be remembered. (PTI)