An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, which was carrying Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife and staff, crashed in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday, 8 December, leading to the unexpected demise of Rawat, his wife and 11 others.
Celebrities took to social media to offer their condolences. Akshay Kumar wrote, "Extremely pained and anguished on the tragic demise of Gen Rawat and our armed forces personnel. Prayers and deepest condolences to the families. Om Shanti."
Salman Khan also expressed his grief on social media in a tweet, "Very sad to hear of the tragic crash in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat his wife and other personnel from the Armed forces. My thoughts my prayers and condolences are with the bereaved families..."
Yami Gautam shared IAF's statement and tweeted, "An extremely sad day for our country. We are still trying to process this shocking news. Our deepest condolences".
Ajay Devgn took to Twitter to write, "Grieved to know about the untimely demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and his troops of the Indian Armed Forces. My deepest condolences to all their families".
Actor Swara Bhasker expressed her 'deepest condolences' in a tweet, "Deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in the tragic crash yesterday. This country is yours in grief. Strength and prayers to the families."
Veteran actor Anupam Kher shared some photos he took with Rawat and wrote in Hindi, "Deeply saddened to hear the passing of CDS #GenBipinRawat, his wife and 11 officers. I was fortunate to meet General Rawat many times. His love for the country knew no bounds. Shaking hands with him was always a matter of pride".
Many others paid their tributes:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)