A helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy went missing on Wednesday an hour after it took off from old Begumpet airport at 8.35 AM, raising fears about his safety.
CM?s principal secretary S Subramanyam and chief security officer ASC Wesley and two pilots were also on board the twin-engined government helicopter that lost contact at 9.35 AM when it was headed for Chitoor district, over 600 km here.
Union home minister P Chidambaram said aerial operations to locate Reddy were suspended due to bad weather and fading light. ?There is no good news yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with Rajasekhara Reddy and his family,? he told reporters in Delhi more than nine hours after the helicopter lost the contact with the ATC. He later briefed Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the operations that have not yielded any result till late evening.
State chief secretary P Ramakanth Reddy said it could be possible that the helicopter could have landed in an unfamiliar area from where getting out could be difficult.
The Centre has decided to send about 5,000 CRPF personnel for a combing operation in naxal-infested dense forests to trace the chief minister.The troops will carry out a massive combing operation in the dense forests of Kurnool.