IAF Chopper crash: Who was Lance Naik Vivek Kumar? Read about the Combat Freefall expert

In an unfortunate incident, India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat was killed in an IAF helicopter crash on December 9 along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 defence personnel. Along with General Bipin Rawat and his wife, those on board were Defence Assistant to CDS Brigadier LS Lidder, SO to CDS Lt. Col. Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja, Havaldar Satpal and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar.

The 29-year-old Lance Naik Vivek Kumar has left behind his parents, wife, three-month-old son and a younger brother. Vivek who started his military career in December 2012, was from Jaisinghpur, a small town in Himachal Pradesh. He was part of a special force in 1 PARA SF and served in Jammu and Kashmir, both south and north Kashmir. He was an expert in Combat Freefall, Communication, and Unarmed Combat.

Himachal Pradesh CM pays tribute to Lance Naik Vivek Kumar

After his demise, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur took to the microblogging site Twitter and paid tribute to the young deceased security official. He announced the news that Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, the son of Jaisinghpur of Veerbhoomi Himachal and Protective Service Officer (PSO) to CDS General Bipin Rawat, was also killed in a helicopter crash at the Upper Coonoor region in Tamil Nadu. He then expressed his condolences by saying, ''May God repose his soul at his feet and provide strength to his mourning family.'' In a subsequent tweet, he stated that in this hour of sadness, the government stands with the martyr's family.

Also, Ravindra Kumar Dhiman, who is a member of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly shared a heartfelt post via Facebook about Vivek. He stated that Naik Vivek Kumar, who belongs to Jaisinghpur, Himachal Pradesh was also killed in the helicopter disaster. He further stated that Martyr Vivek Kumar was the PSO to CDS Rawat. Dhiman then expressed his condolences by writing, "May God place the departing soul at his feet."

World leaders remember CDS Bipin Rawat

After the tragic incident, leaders from all around the world paid tributes to CDS Bipin Rawat and other deceased officers. General Shavendra Silva, chief of the Sri Lanka Army said that he was extremely heartbroken and horrified to learn of the tragic helicopter crash that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who died in the awful helicopter crash in India. PM Bennett said, ''May their souls rest in peace.''

Image: Twitter/@ANI, Republic World