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

Candle light tributes were paid at various places in Kashmir on Thursday to General Bipin Rawat who, along with 12 others, was killed in a helicopter crash. General Officer Commanding of the Army's Chinar Corps Lt Gen D P Pandey said the people of the Valley have lost more than anyone else in Gen Rawat's death. Srinagar-based Defence PRO Col Emron Musavi said candle light tributes were paid to Gen Rawat in Baramulla, Kupwara, Keran and Machhal sector near the Line of Control (LoC). (PTI)

Indian Air Force's Group Captain Varun Singh has been shifted to Command Hospital in Bengaluru for further treatment. Earlier today, defence minister Rajnath Singh said that Singh is on life support. According to the sources, the health condition of the Shaurya Chakra awardee is critical but stable.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the family of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday and extended his condolences over the demise of the CDS and his wife Madhulika Rawat in a chopper crash. CM Dhami said that the death of General Rawat is an irreparable loss. "It is a huge loss for the nation, especially for Uttarakhand and me," he added. (ANI)

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has condoled the death of General Bipin Rawat, India's first chief of defence staff, who along with his wife and 11 other defence personnel died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. In a tweet, President Rajapaksa said: “Deeply saddened to hear of the sudden demise of General Bipin Rawat, Mrs Rawat and others in the tragic helicopter accident in Tamil Nadu. I extend my condolences to the families and to all Indians on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka.”

In a village 50km from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district headquarters, grieving relatives of Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, who was the co-pilot of the IAF helicopter that crashed in Tamil Nadu, and residents were on Thursday busy preparing for his cremation. Singh's last rites will be conducted at the Mahatma Gandhi Government School ground in his Ghardana Khurd village and thousands are expected to gather to bid him farewell. (PTI)

As soon as the news about Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan's death broke, relatives and neighbours rushed to console the bereaved family at their home in Saran Nagar in Dayal Bagh in Agra city. Chauhan (42) was killed along with several others, including chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, in the chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. His family had migrated to Agra from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh in 2006 and his father Surendra Singh (74) set up a bakery here. He said Chauhan was cooperative and well-mannered and the youngest among five siblings. "He used to talk about our well-being. After 31 years, he had celebrated Raksha Bandhan with his three sisters last time. His eldest sister, however, couldn't make it as she lives in Mumbai," Surendra Singh recalled. Chauhan was to arrive home in January. (PTI)

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash has raised doubts in the minds of people. Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, said Gen Rawat had played a key role in formulating the nation's military response against China and Pakistan in recent times. “So, when such an accident takes place, it raises doubts in the minds of the people,” he said, noting that the helicopter ferrying Gen Rawat was a modern machine powered by two engines. "We claim to have modernised the armed forces. How could this happen?" he wondered. Raut claimed that the entire country and the leadership may have been confounded by this accident, and the defence minister or the prime minister should eliminate all doubts. (PTI)

The government is set to begin the process soon to appoint the next Chief of Defence Staff with Army Chief Gen MM Naravane emerging as the front-runner for the top post that fell vacant following the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash. The move by the government comes even as a number of retired military commanders said it will be prudent to appoint Gen Naravane as he is retiring as the chief of army staff in five months. (PTI)