Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others, who were on board IAF's Mi-17V5 helicopter, died in the crash on Wednesday near Tamil Nadu's Connoor.
Meanwhile, as Indians mourned CDS Bipin Rawat's death, messages of condolences came from across the border too.
When Indian veteran Brigadier R S Pathania took to Twitter to condole the demise of Rawat, former Pakistani Major Adil Raja gave a heartwarming reply.
"Salute you sir. Jai Hind," wrote Brigadier R S Pathania.
"Sir, please accept my heartfelt condolences," commented Raja.
Responding to Raja's comment, Pathania said, "Thank you Adil. That’s what is expected from a soldier. Salute you."
In a heartwarming reply, Raja wrote, "Off-course sir, it's the decent thing to do as a soldier. Again, sorry for your loss sir. In our Punjabi folklore they say, "dushman maray te khushian na manawoo, kadday sajna v mar jaana" Means: "Don't celebrate the deaths of your enemies as some day friends would also die"."
Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Pakistan Armed Forces (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza also on Wednesday condoled the death of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat.
"General Nadeem Raza, CJCSC & General Qamar Javed Bajwa, COAS express condolences on tragic death of #CDS General #BipinRawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India," tweeted the offical spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, the last rites will be held in Delhi on Friday with military honours. A funeral procession will start from Kamraj Marg to Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment.
Besides, the government today ordered a 'tri service' enquiry into the accident.
The enquiry will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.
Informing about the timeline of the fatal crash, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha said that the IAF chopper lost contact with the Sulur base control room at around 12.08 pm, after it took off at 11.48 am from Sulur airbase.
Both Houses of the Parliament observed two-minutes silence on the demise of 13 people.
Those who died in the crash include General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew.
Their names are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja.
(With ANI inputs)
