A helicopter of the Indian Air Force carrying first Chief of Defence Staff,  General Bipin Rawat, his wife and several top Indian Army officers and personnel crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu in southern India Wednesday killing all but one of its 14 occupants.

Gen Rawat was scheduled to address an event at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington when the crash took place.

"An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the cause," the Indian Air Force said in a statement.

The helicopter crashed in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and was heading to Wellington from Sulur, just a 15-minute ride.

Gen Rawat, a former Indian Army chief, was appointed India’s first Chief of Defence Staff when the post was established two years ago to enable greater jointness and coordination of the three wings of the armed force.

He was seen as a hardline general who took tough stances against India’s two military adversaries, China and Pakistan (SAM)