The 60-year-old Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh took off in his helicopter for Chittoor at 8.35 am on Wednesday. Like always, YSR was travelling with his special secretary Subramaniam, chief security officer Wilson, and two pilots on the 7-seater Bell 430 helicopter.
The journey should have taken him 2 hours. But at 9.05 am, air traffic control officials lost contact with the helicopter when it was over the Kurnool district. The weather had turned stormy with gales of wind and bursts of rain.
Seven helicopters were soon sent on a search and rescue mission. But heavy rain made their mission a tough one.
The dense forest area in the Nallamalalla hill range where Reddy went missing is 250 kms from Hyderabad. There are hardly any roads, and no mobile or radio networks. This is also Naxal Country.
Sources say that helicopter was spotted between 9.15 to 9.30 am.
By noon, worried ministers and officials went public with the news that they didn't know where the chief minister was. Then followed chaos. Local police officials and politicians started telling journalists that the chief minister was safe.
Not true, said the Home Minister in Delhi. TV channels began reporting the contradictions. Local channels, including one owned by the chief minister's son said YSR was safe.
But Air Force choppers ordered into search and rescue delivered no good news. And the Congress soon went on record to say the situation seems grim.
The army, police forces from 6 districts, ISRO and anti-Naxal forces are all involved in search and rescue operations now.
