India’s defense chief, wife and 11 others killed in helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu

India’s defense chief Gen. Bipin Rawal, his wife and 11 others were killed in a military helicopter crash on Wednesday near the town of Coonor in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The Russian-made Mi-17V5 was on its way from an air force base to the Defense Services Staff College. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The authorities have opened an investigation. One officer survived and is in hospital. Gen. Rawal, with four decades of service behind him, has commanded forces in Indian-administered Kashmir and along the Line of Actual Control bordering China.