Anxiety in government and Congress circles is growing even as seven helicopters, including four from the Indian Air Force, are on
desperate search and rescue mission for the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, which has been missing since 9.27am on Wednesday.
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. This was when the chopper entered the thickly forested, Naxalite-infested Nallamalla hill range.
The heavy rain and zero visibility in the Nalamlla forest, an extension of Eastern Ghats, is making the search operations difficult, officials said. Large parts of the forest are also flooded because of the overflowing Srisailam reservoir. Officials also said that the met department's predictions for the day included heavy rain and lightning.
Andhra Pradesh finance minister A Rosaiah said at a press conference that no contact has been established with the chief minister's chopper. Search and rescue operations are still on, he said. The state is coordinating with central agencies in Delhi to locate the CM's chopper. The PM's office is also in touch with the state government. Several helicopters have left for search operations, he added.
The state government has appealed to people for help and asked them to get in touch with the nearest police station if they have any information. Sources in the Congress, the chief minister's party, described the situation as grim.
Reports say state finance minister A Rosaiah will be holding another press conference with the Chief Secretary, AP government and the Director General of Police at 7pm on Wednesday.
Earlier today, confusion prevailed over the missing chopper as minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said Reddy's helicopter had been located.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Nearly 12 hours over, no trace of Andhra CM
New Delhi: Helicopter search operations to locate Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has been called off because of light and weather conditions and will resume on Thursday morning, Home Minister P Chidambaram said in the Capital.
The 60-year-old Congress leader, who led the party to a remarkable victory in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, left Hyderabad for Chitoor at 0835 hours IST in a twin-engined Bell helicopter which lost contact an hour later. There was no trace of the helicopter, which got lost in bad weather.
“There is no good news yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with Rajasekhara Reddy and his family," Chidambaram said more than ten hours after the helicopter lost contact with the ATC at 0935 hours IST.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) in the first light of the day, helicopters will continue the search,” Chidambaram said, who is supervising the search operation.
However, a sombre Home Minister said the search on foot by forest and revenue officials will continue through the night. Police and CRPF personnel are also conducting search operations on foot.
"I have advised the state government to continue the search even during the night with whatever light is available. Perhaps they would be able to do the search for couple of hours," Chidambaram said.
The Union Home Ministry has rushed 5,000 CRPF personnel to the area from nearby Chattisgarh and Orissa to conduct search in the area.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore and a private chopper from Nellore scoured the area where the helicopter is believed to have gone missing. Two helicopters from Air Command in Secunderabad returned because of incessant rains.
IAF will also press into service Su-30MKI fighter aircraft with synthetic aperture radar for high resolution ground mapping in and around Kurnool to locate the missing chopper
The 60-year-old Congress leader, who led the party to a remarkable victory in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, left Hyderabad for Chitoor at 0835 hours IST in a twin-engined Bell helicopter which lost contact an hour later. There was no trace of the helicopter, which got lost in bad weather.
“There is no good news yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with Rajasekhara Reddy and his family," Chidambaram said more than ten hours after the helicopter lost contact with the ATC at 0935 hours IST.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) in the first light of the day, helicopters will continue the search,” Chidambaram said, who is supervising the search operation.
However, a sombre Home Minister said the search on foot by forest and revenue officials will continue through the night. Police and CRPF personnel are also conducting search operations on foot.
"I have advised the state government to continue the search even during the night with whatever light is available. Perhaps they would be able to do the search for couple of hours," Chidambaram said.
The Union Home Ministry has rushed 5,000 CRPF personnel to the area from nearby Chattisgarh and Orissa to conduct search in the area.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore and a private chopper from Nellore scoured the area where the helicopter is believed to have gone missing. Two helicopters from Air Command in Secunderabad returned because of incessant rains.
IAF will also press into service Su-30MKI fighter aircraft with synthetic aperture radar for high resolution ground mapping in and around Kurnool to locate the missing chopper
Is Andhra CM Dead????
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning on Wednesday.
The Congress on Wednesday described the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning as a ``crisis’’ but pleaded ignorance about any further details.
By evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation.
While Mr. Moily has been asked to go in his capacity as the party’s general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chavan – who holds additional charge of Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office – is going as the Centre’s representative to monitor the search operations.
The decision to send the two Ministers to Andhra Pradesh was taken in the evening; nine hours after the chopper went missing in the Nallamala forest area near Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Other Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders including Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy and V. Hanumantha Rao are also heading for Hyderabad.
Ms. Gandhi is understood to have spoken to the Chief Minister’s son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy – a first-time member of the Lok Sabha – during the day. After Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram briefed Ms. Gandhi in the evening about the steps being taken to find Mr. Reddy, the Congress president called an emergency meeting of her key aides – Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A. K. Antony, and political secretary Ahmed Patel -- to take stock of the situation.
Shaken by the turn of events but keeping its hopes alive for now, the Congress refused to speak about the issue with spokesman Manish Tewari stating that the party had nothing to add to what Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Roshiah had said in Hyderabad. ``It is an evolving situation. This is a sensitive situation,…. a crisis situation. We are praying for his safety. ’’
As the hours passed by, however, hope began fading in the Congress and leaders could not help remembering the party losing other dynamic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot in accidents. In addition, they pointed out, Mr. Reddy’s chopper went missing in a Naxal-prone dense forest area, adding to the risks in this case.
The Congress on Wednesday described the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning as a ``crisis’’ but pleaded ignorance about any further details.
By evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation.
While Mr. Moily has been asked to go in his capacity as the party’s general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chavan – who holds additional charge of Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office – is going as the Centre’s representative to monitor the search operations.
The decision to send the two Ministers to Andhra Pradesh was taken in the evening; nine hours after the chopper went missing in the Nallamala forest area near Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Other Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders including Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy and V. Hanumantha Rao are also heading for Hyderabad.
Ms. Gandhi is understood to have spoken to the Chief Minister’s son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy – a first-time member of the Lok Sabha – during the day. After Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram briefed Ms. Gandhi in the evening about the steps being taken to find Mr. Reddy, the Congress president called an emergency meeting of her key aides – Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A. K. Antony, and political secretary Ahmed Patel -- to take stock of the situation.
Shaken by the turn of events but keeping its hopes alive for now, the Congress refused to speak about the issue with spokesman Manish Tewari stating that the party had nothing to add to what Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Roshiah had said in Hyderabad. ``It is an evolving situation. This is a sensitive situation,…. a crisis situation. We are praying for his safety. ’’
As the hours passed by, however, hope began fading in the Congress and leaders could not help remembering the party losing other dynamic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot in accidents. In addition, they pointed out, Mr. Reddy’s chopper went missing in a Naxal-prone dense forest area, adding to the risks in this case.
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