13 people were killed in the fall of a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter near a destination in southern Tamil Nadu state in India, The Guardian reports..

Among the dead is reportedly Indian Defense Minister General Bipin Rawat. Rawat was the commander of the 1.3 million army from 2017 to 2019 until he was promoted to the position of chief of defense and was considered close to Prime Minister Narendri Modi.. Modi said that Rawat was an outstanding soldier and a true patriot who helped modernize the country's military..

The 63-year-old was traveling with his wife and other high-ranking officers, heading to the Defense Service Staff College (DSSC) to reach out to students and faculty at Sulur Air Force Base..

The helicopter was already descending at the time of the accident and fell about 10 km from the nearest main road.

A witness at the scene reported that passengers fell from the helicopter before the crash, and that one person climbed out of the wreck.. It is indicated that one captain survived. He received treatment for his injuries at a nearby military hospital..

Indian Air Force says crash is under investigation.

The Guardian writes that the Mi-17 helicopter, which first entered service in the 1970s and is widely used by defense services around the world, has suffered in many accidents in recent years.. Last month, a plane crash in which an Azerbaijani military Mi-17 crashed during a training flight killed 14 people.. In 2019, four Indonesian soldiers were killed and five injured in central Java as a result of another training event..