Andhra chief minister YSR killed in crash, bodies recovered

By IANS,

Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has been killed, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed Thursday, more than 24 hours after his helicopter went missing in a densely forested Maoist stronghold of the state.


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“The bodies have been recovered. They will be taken to Hyderabad for post mortem,” a PMO official in Delhi told IANS.

Helicopters, search parties and villagers had conducted the search in pouring rain for a whole day and night in the forested hinterland for the wreckage, which was finally located about 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool town.

The 60-year-old chief minister, popularly known as YSR, was going to Chittoor, 588 km from this state capital, for a function when his helicopter went missing in inclement weather around 9.30 a.m. Wednesday in the Nallamalla forests.

With YSR, who this May steered the Congress to a second stint in power, was his special secretary and his security officer, besides two pilots.

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