Andhra CM goes missing, massive search on

Centre rushes help; PM, Sonia worried; party leaders confer.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who went missing at 9.35 am on Wednesday when the helicopter carrying him lost radio contact, remained untraced till the time of going to press.

The chief minister was on a three-district tour and proceeding to Chittoor in southern Andhra from Hyderabad, via Kurnool and Prakasam, when the chopper went off the radar of the air traffic control tower at Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport. Reddy was travelling in a 430 Bell helicopter with his personal secretary, Subramaniam, and chief security officer, Wesley, besides the pilot and co-pilot.

A search was launched right away by both the state and central governments but he could not be located. Five defence helicopters, two from Hyderabad and three from Bangalore, were pressed into service. Two more helicopters, one of the state government and another of a private company, also went in search of Reddy.

With the light fading towards the end of the evening, a low-flying aircraft of the National Remote Sensing Agency was sent to continue the search. It has the capacity to fly very low and cover an area of 250 sq km.

Union home minister P Chidambaram cancelled all his appointments from the afternoon and is monitoring the situation from his office. The Centre has decided to send CRPF personnel for a combing operation in the dense Nallamalla forests in southern Kurnool district, where there were reports of the chopper having been seen in the sky in the morning.

The Prime Minister is asking for regular updates. Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke to the family and also convened a meeting with top party leaders in Delhi tonight. Another meeting of the party’s core committee is taking place tomorrow.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan, were asked to rush to Hyderabad. State chief secretary P Ramakanth Reddy said the US Defence Department had been asked if it had satellite imagery that could be helpful in traceing the copter.

He said strong wind, inclement weather and heavy downpour were hampering the search. Two of the helicopters had returned to their base at the Hakimpet Air Force Station, unable to continue due to the adverse weather.

State finance minister K Rosaiah said the copter could have made an emergency landing in a thick forest area, bereft of electronic signals. He appealed to the local people to search.

Sixty-year-old Rajasekhara Reddy became CM for a consecutive term only recently, with the Congress bagging a majority of the legislative assembly seats. Under his stewardship, the Congress also won 33 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Telugu Desam Party president and leader of the Opposition in the state, N Chandrababu Naidu, appealed to the people to extend all help in locating the chief minister.