Hyderabad, September 02: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s fate appeared uncertain on Wednesday night as the air force called off its aerial search for his helicopter that went missing over 11 hours ago in a forest amid bad weather, with Home Minister P Chidambaram saying: “Let us hope for the best. Let us pray for the best.”
With daylight giving way to darkness in the sprawling Nallamalla forest range in and around Kurnool district, hopes of locating the Bell 430 chopper faded even as thousands of police and paramilitary personnel trekked towards an interior area over which the helicopter was spotted shortly before it lost contact with air controllers at 9.35 a.m.
A sombre Chidamabaram, overseeing the multi-faceted hunt for the helicopter, told reporters in New Delhi that the search by the Indian Air Force was called off late in the evening “because of the weather and failing light” but said the manual search for the chopper would go on “at least for a few hours” before resuming at first light.
Two air force helicopters from Secunderabad and three from Bangalore had searched for the American-made helicopter for several hours along with a private chopper from Andhra Pradesh.
After stating that forest and revenue department officials had conducted searches in Kurnool district, Chidambaram said: “We are keeping our fingers crossed. The police and paramilitary forces are moving towards that point… Perhaps they would be able to do a search for a couple of hours at least, then we will have to wait first light tomorrow.
Let us hope for the best. Let us pray for the best.”
Even as rescuers combed the forest range, officials reluctantly admitted that the missing helicopter had not renewed its airworthiness certificate for two years. Experts denounced the shocking revelation.
Authorities said US satellites would be used to scan the dense Nallamalla forest. Simultaneously, a low flying aircraft of the National Remote Sensing Agency would search the missing helicopter throughout the night. The Indian Air Force said it would press Sukhoi aircraft for night operations.
President Pratibha Patil, now in Moscow, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed concern over the fate of YSR, as the chief minister is widely known. Congress president Sonia Gandhi prepared to travel to Hyderabad.
His disappearance while flying from Hyderabad to Chittoor, about 580 km away from here towards Tamil Nadu, has caused concern in the Congress where YSR is highly regarded both for his administrative acumen and political skills. He is also credited with crushing the Maoist movement in Andhra Pradesh, a long-time ultra-Left bastion.
In a sign of desperation, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Ramakant Reddy urged anyone who gets to know anything to contact the police.
“So far we have not been able to get any confirmation (about the chief minister). It is possible that because of the strong winds and heavy rains, it may have landed in some unfamiliar area,” Reddy said here. “If you land in an unfamiliar forested area, getting out will be very difficult.”
He urged people living in the forested region to “kindly help us. If you get any signal, any reliable information, contact the nearest police station”.
With no word on YSR’s whereabouts and the helicopter more than 11 hours after it went missing at 9.35 a.m., thousands of emotive supporters gathered at the Congress office in Hyderabad. Scores prayed for his safety in temples, mosques and churches in the state.
At the state secretariat, crowds shouted “Long live YSR” and called him a friend of the poor. Security personnel had a tough time controlling the crowds.
Retired Air Marshal Denzil Keelor said the twin-engine helicopter would have faced hostile weather. “Visibility was very bad, there was no restriction on the height (the pilot) was flying. It is most dangerous to fly low level in bad weather.”
A doctor by training, YSR is one of the most influential leaders in the Congress after leading the party again to a spectacular win in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in April-May this year.
Elected to the state assembly for the fifth time, YSR is also a four-time Lok Sabha MP and holds the record of never losing an election. He is the first Congress chief minister to rule Andhra Pradesh for five years and then retain to office.
Earlier Wednesday, Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Minister P. Subhash Chandra Bose said the chief minister was safe after the helicopter landed in Kurnool district, but police declined to back the minister’s claim.
Eventually, the state government distanced itself from the minister’s statement.
—Agencies