Uncertainty persisted on Wednesday over the whereabouts of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, whose helicopter went missing at 10.30 am amid bad weather.
Uncertainty persisted on Wednesday over the whereabouts of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, whose helicopter went missing at 10.30 am amid bad weather.
Although Social Welfare Minister P Subhash Chandra Bose said the chief minister was safe after the helicopter landed in Kurnool district, police officials were not forthcoming on his location.
The chief minister was supposed to land at Chittoor district at 10.30 am when his helicopter lost contact with air traffic control. There is bad weather in the area.
The minister, however, insisted that the chopper carrying the chief minister, his special secretary and two pilots landed safely.
"We have information that the chief minister is safe," said Chandra Bose. He was not ready to reveal any details.
Official sources said the details were not being revealed because Kurnool district where the chopper reportedly landed is a hotbed of Maoists.
Congress MP from Nandyal SPY Reddy told a Telugu television channel that he was yet to receive any information about the chief minister's whereabouts.
"Police have launched search operations," he said from Kurnool.
Two helicopters took off from Hyderabad to join the search operations. The army's help has been sought to locate the chopper.
The chopper lost contact with Air Traffic Control due to bad weather around 10.30 am when it was on its way from Hyderabad to Chittoor where the chief minister was to attend a programme.
A high-level meeting is on at the state secretariat here.
Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy reviewed the situation with Chief Secretary Ramakant Reddy, Director General of Police SSP Yadav, the chief minister's close aide and Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramchandra Rao and senior state ministers.
No contact with CM's chopper: Home Ministry
There has been no contact with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, whose helicopter has been missing for over five hours now after he took off from Hyderabad on Wednesday morning, Home Ministry sources here said.
"There has been no contact established with the helicopter," sources in the ministry said. They said the situation was being monitored by Home Minister P Chidambaram and top officials who are in touch with Andhra Pradesh government officials.
The Home Ministry spokesperson said two Air Force helicopters have been dispatched for search operations. Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar said that there was no information about the whereabouts of the helicopter. The Home Ministry was coordinating search operations, he said.
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