Head of India’s military among 13 killed in helicopter crash

India’s top military officer was among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday.

Gen. Bipin Rawat, 63, was the most senior official in the Indian military and the first chief of defense staff. He was traveling with his wife from an air force base to the army defense services college when the aircraft crashed.

India’s air force said in a tweet that those on board the helicopter “met with a tragic accident.”

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Smoke rises from fire after an army helicopter carrying India's Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu state, India, on Wednesday. (Bangalore New Photos/)

The incident occurred near the town of Coonoor, in Tamil Nadu, a state in southeast India.

The lone survivor, Group Capt. Varun Singh, was taken to a military hospital. Singh’s condition is unknown.

Firemen and rescue workers stand next to the debris of an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter crash site in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, on December 8. (-/)

Rawat oversaw the country’s army, navy and air force and was overseeing an overhaul and modernization effort of the three branches.

“His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional,” prime minister Narendra Modi said.

People light candles to pay their respect in front of a portrait of defence chief General Bipin Rawat in Siliguri on Wednesday. (Photo by Diptendu DUTTA / AFP) (Photo by DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP via Getty Images) (DIPTENDU DUTTA/)

Rawat was also seen as a controversial figure for his tactics in fighting a rebellion in Kashmir against a mostly Muslim insurgency.

He had survived a helicopter crash in 2015 in the northeast state of Nagaland.

With News Wire Services