Kathmandu, Dec 9 (IANS): The Nepal Army on Thursday expressed grief over the demise of Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, who was killed a day earlier in a chopper crash along with 12 others in the state of Tamil Nadu.

In a statement, the Nepal Army expressed its condolences over the death of Rawat, who was also also Nepal's Honorary Chief of the Army Staff, his wife Madulika and the 11 other military personnel.

General Prabhu Ram Sharma, Chief of Army Staff in the Nepal Army, offered his condolences to the Indian Army and General Rawat's family by phone and a letter on Wednesday evening, said the statement.

General Sharma said was shocked by the tragic incident and the irreparable loss to the Indian Army as well as the loss of a true friend to the Nepal Army.

General Rawat was conferred with the honorary title of Nepal Army by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on March 29, 2017.

In 2018, he visited Kathmandu as the Chief Guest for Nepal Army Day.

Senior Nepal Army General Bal Krishna Karki is slated to attend Rawat's last rites in New Delhi.

Hailing from Uttarakhand, General Rawat used to speak the Nepali language very fluently.