Prime Ministers Office declared on Thursday that Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in an air crash.
The helicopter carrying YSR Reddy, two of his staff and two pilots went missing in pouring rain Wednesday morning over the Naxal and tiger-infested Nalamalla forests.
Five bodies were been found at the site where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy chopper’s wreckage has been traced.
The government on Thursday confirmed that Nearly 24 hours after YSR's chopper went missing, it was located atop Serai Salem hill, at a distance 40 nautical miles (70 kms) east of Kurnool.
The CM left Hyderabad on a six-seater Bell chopper at 8.35am for Chittoor accompanied by his secretary and chief security officer. After 9.27am, radio contact was lost with the helicopter.
Soon after the chopper lost contact, multiple agencies of the state launched a massive hunt for possible wreckage in the desolate terrain. By evening, it expanded into the country's biggest-ever search operation with satellites in the sky joining remote sensing aircraft, fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, troops on the ground and even barefoot deer-hunting tribals with bows and arrows.
Andhra Pradesh plunges into gloom
Andhra Pradesh plunged into gloom Thursday as it became known that Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy had died in a helicopter crash in the dense Nallamalla forests.
People cried inconsolably in the state secretariat, the chief minister's camp office and Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the ruling Congress party.
"He is my God. I can't believe he is no more," wailed a Congress party worker.
"He gave life to several people through Rajiv Arogyasri (health insurance scheme for poor). Nobody had imagined he will lose his life this way," said another Congress worker.
After frantic search for the missing helicopter for 24 hours, the Indian Air Force (IAF) traced the wreckage on top of a hill in the forests in Kurnool district.
The chopper was found in a mangled state with the bodies of the chief minister, his special secretary P Subrahmanyam, chief security officer ASC Wesley, Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy. (more...)
YSR is no more
PM's letter of condolence to YSR's wife
The Prime Minister, Dr. Mammohan Singh, has condoled the tragic and untimely demise of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy.
In his condolence message to the late leader’s wife, Vijaya Laxmi, Dr. Singh said that it was a personal loss and described the Chief Minister as a natural leader who was loved by the common man.
The Prime Minister’s condolence message is as follows:
It is with a deep sense of grief and personal loss that I learnt of the tragic and untimely demise of your husband, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Rajasekharaji died as he lived- in the service of the people of Andhra Pradesh and the country. In his untimely passing away, the State of Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader, and the country has lost an ideal Chief Minister who was a role model for other states. I have lost a valued colleague on whom I depended for support and ideas. Rajasekharaji’s life was one of tireless commitment and service to the people, especially the poor and the underprivileged. His legacy will live on and will inspire many others in the time to come.
In his long and illustrious political career, Rajasekharaji distinguished himself in every position he held. He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly at a young age of 28 years and was a member of the Lok Sabha for four terms. His contribution to the Congress party was immense. He led the party to two consecutive victories in Andhra Pradesh. As President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, he undertook a historic padayatra in 1998 which endeared him to the people of the State.
As a Chief Minister, Rajasekharaji will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to the development of Andhra Pradesh and his administrative acumen. All his actions were guided by his deep sensitivity to the problems of the poor and the needy.
Your husband was a natural leader of men, who was loved equally by the public, his colleagues and the common man. The void his passing away has left “behind will never be filled.
My wife joins me in extending our heartfelt condolences to you and your family members. I pray to God to give you the strength and the fortitude to guide you in this hour of profound personal loss.” (more...)
Chiru criticizes the CM Security
PRP president Chiranjeevi , in a press meet held at his office criticized the Security of Chief Minister, for allowing him to fly in a helicopter that is 20 year old, which had several maintenance problems. He said that, “Despite knowing about the chopper condition they have allowed the Chief Minister to fly in it. Now, the state is paying dearly for their negligence. Hope Chief Minister will be traced soon and will be back in the service of people. Almighty is there to save him, because he did many good things to the poor people. We are anxiously waiting for his safe arrival.” (more...)
No Josh because CM is missing!
The release of film Josh once again postponed to one more day that is on September 5th, because of the prevailing tensions in the state about the missing Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy. Producer of the film Dil Raju announced that the film will be released on 5th of September, instead of 3rd.
The film is passing through so many obstacles till today. When everything fits into its pocket, and date is announced by the producer, the missing of Chief Minister become another hurdle for the Josh ‘However, most probably if everything goes smooth, the film will be released on 5th of September,’ hopefully says the producer.
Here is an interesting thing to know about. This is the first time in Indian film history, that a film was postponed its release because of a missing person.
This is the first film for Naga Chaitanya This is the first time in Indian history that a Chief Minister of a state is missing. (more...)
CM YSR goes missing
YSR who is supposed to attend Racha Banda program in Chittoor at 9 am today gone missing along with his chopper. A red alert has been declared at 9:45 am. It's been 7 hours and there is no news yet. Rosaiah arranged a press meet and declared the same. He urged people in Nallamalla forest areas to go into forest to search for helicopter in dense areas of forest. Lots of choppers from Hyderabad, Bangalore and chennai are been put into action and some of the choppers returned due to bad weather. It's been raining heavily all over AP in the past two days.
Meanwhile it is learnt that the license of chopper model which is flying YSR is not renewed as the aviation director has banned those models on safey reasons.
There is tense situation in all over the AP and with people praying for safe returning of YSR. Chandra Babu Naidu and Chiranjeevi expressed their concern and wished that YSR will return safely soon. Idlebrain.com wishes that YSR will return safely at the earliest. (more...)
