With flowers and salutes, last respects paid to India's defence chief

FILE PHOTO: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat arrives for the Beating the Retreat ceremony in New Delhi, India, January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The bodies of India's defence chief and 12 others who died in a helicopter crash laid draped in the Indian flag at a defence cantonment on Thursday, before being flown to New Delhi, where the general will be laid to rest with full military honours.

General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 defence personnel were en route to a military staff college in southern India when the air force helicopter they were travelling in came down near the town of Coonoor on Wednesday.