Mumbai:
Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, who was killed in a chopper crash on Tuesday during rescue operations in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, was buried in Mumbai this afternoon with full military honours.
The burial took place at the cemetery of 'Our lady of Egypt' church in Kalina, suburban Mumbai. The funeral was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Indian Air Force officers, Darryl's family and friends.
Mr Castelino was among 20 people who died when the chopper he was commanding crashed in treacherous terrain while returning from Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
The Wing Commander had spent the night before the crash at an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp. He had told people there that he was happy about wearing his dark green jumpsuit for a big operation to "bring in more and more live people." He charmingly returned compliments on the great work his crew was doing.
Over one lakh people have been rescued so far from the state in heroic efforts led by the Army and the Air Force. But over 3000 are still missing, while more than 1,000 are still stranded.
Nearly a thousand people have died in flash floods and landslides that were triggered by torrential rain in Uttarakhand two weeks ago.