Andhra CM Reddy's chopper missing

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, is untraceable from 9.30 in the morning on Wednesday when the chopper carrying him lost radio contact.

Speculations were rife that the helicopter carrying the chief minister, his personal secretary Subramaniam and chief security officer Wesley along with the pilot and co-pilot could have crash landed somewhere in Nallamala forest in Kurnool district.

The Chief Minister was on a three-district tour and was proceeding to Chittoor via Kurnool and Prakasam when the chopper went off the radar of air traffic control tower at Begumpet airport here.

A frantic search has been launched to trace his whereabouts both by state and the central governments but to no avail. Five defence helicopters, two from Hyderabad and three from Bangalore, have been pressed into service to locate the Chief Minister. Two more helicopters, one belonging to the state government and another to a private company, also went in search of Reddy.

State Finance Minister K Rosaiah said the helicopter carrying the Chief Minister could have made an emergency landing in a thick forest area, which was bereft of electronic signals. He appealed to the local people, who were well aware of the forest area, to go in search of the chief minister and help the police and government officials in tracing  him.

The State Chief Secretary P Ramakanth Reddy said that strong wind, inclement weather and heavy downpour were hampering the search operations.