India on Friday bid an emotional farewell to the country's first military chief General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel who died in a chopper crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. In Delhi, the 63-year-old Chief of Defence Staff and his wife Madhulika were cremated with full military honours this evening, as political leaders cutting across party lines, senior Indian defence officials as well as top military commanders from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal thronged the Brar Square crematorium to pay silent tribute to the departed souls. Read: India orders tri-services probe into military chief's chopper crash The bodies of General Rawat and his wife were laid side by side on the same funeral pyre that was lit by their two daughters, Kritika and Tarin, as per Hindu tradition. Some 800 Indian defence personnel witnessed the funeral, which was telecast live on all Indian channels. The bodies of the 13 chopper crash victims were brought to the Indian capital on Thursday night on a special Air Force transport aircraft. After the plane landed at Palam airport, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and top military officials paid tributes to the departed souls in a brief ceremony. General Rawat, a four-star General, was on his way to deliver a lecture at Defence Services Staff College in Wellington when the Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed in the hilly terrain of the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor district and burst into flames around noon on Wednesday. Of a total of 14 people on board the ill-fated chopper, 13 were charred to death. Read:India's first military chief among 13 dead in chopper crash The lone survivor of the crash -- senior Air Force officer Group Captain Varun Singh -- was on Thursday evening airlifted to a state-of-the-art military hospital in the neighbouring state of Karnataka's capital Bengaluru from a medical facility in Wellington. The Indian government on Thursday only ordered a tri-services probe -- an investigation by the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force -- into the chopper crash. "The investigation will be led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh (Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command)," the Defense Minister told the Indian Parliament. General Rawat has had a chequered career in the armed forces spanning over 40 years, rising from the rank of a junior commissioned officer to the Indian Army chief and eventually the first head of the tri-services. He reported directly to the Indian Prime Minister.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed deep shock at the death of India's Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and other co-passengers in a chopper crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. India's top military commander, his wife and 11 others died after the Mi-17V5 helicopter came down in the hilly terrain of the Nilgiris in the state's Coonoor district and burst into flames on Wednesday morning. READ: Border killings remain an irritant, FM Momen tells Shringla "I'm deeply shocked and saddened," Dr Momen said in a condolence message forwarded to his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar. On behalf of the government of Bangladesh and on his own behalf, the Foreign Minister conveyed deepest condolences to the bereaved family members of General Rawat and other deceased, and the people of India. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and their near and dear ones. May they have the strength to bear with the irreparable losses," the message reads. READ: Dhaka, Delhi created model relations, says FM terming Dec 6 a historic day Bipin Rawat, 63, was appointed as India's first chief of defence staff in January 2019. General Rawat has had a chequered career in the armed forces spanning over 40 years, rising from the rank of a junior commissioner officer to the Indian Army chief and eventually the first head of the tri-services – the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

India's military chief General Bipin Rawat, his wife and at least five other senior Army officers are feared killed in a chopper crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu Wednesday. The 63-year-old four-star General is India's first and current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).  "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," the Indian Air Force tweeted. Also read: Resistance leader’s death deepens Kashmir strife A total of 14 people were reportedly on board the helicopter of General Rawat, which crashed in the hilly terrain of the Nilgiris in Coonoor district. Also read: Pakistan army helicopter crashes in Kashmir; 2 pilots killed Rescue operations are currently underway, military sources told the local media.