Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: CDS General Bipin Rawat along with his family members had visited Puri Srimandir to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath on November 25 in 2017 when he was the Army Chief General.

Rawat, was in Odisha for an inspection of the Army Defence Centre in Gopalpur and later visited the Jagannath Temple for darshan of the Trinity.

Rawat along with his family had also visited the Sun Temple in Konark.

Later, He was appointed as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from December 31, 2019.

 The brave hero of India passed away today along with 12 others in a chopper crash.

Gen Bipin Rawat, her wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident, the IAF said.

Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington, it said in another tweet.

Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today.

Around noon today, an IAF Mi 17 V5 helicopter with a crew of 4 members carrying the CDS and nine other passengers met with a tragic accident near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.