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Home Ministry orders paratroopers to airdrop at copter location site | The Union Home Ministry has ordered paratroopers to immediately airdrop themselves at the location where
the missing chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajshekhera Reddy and four others is stationed about 40 nautical miles east of the Kurnool mountaineous
area. The paratroopers have been told to report back immediately on the situation
on ground. A television channel report had earlier quoted an Air Force spokesperson
as saying in Hyderabad that it was unclear whether the chopper had crashed and
whether there were any survivors. A local TV channel had earlier brought out unconfirmed
information that some remains of what appeared to be the chopper had been traced.
"We have located the helicopter. It is on top of a hill at a distance of 40 nautical
miles east of Kurnool. We are trying to find out whether there were any survivors.
We are not sure whether the chopper crashed. Two Air Force helicopters are orbiting
there trying to find a place to land, but because the chopper is on top of a hill,
it's a jungle it has been very difficult to land," said an Army spokesperson adding
that further details were awaited from the site. The chopper is said to be located
between Rudrakonta and Rollapenta near Kurnool town. Commandos, police and paratroopers
are moving towards the area Meanwhile, the core committee of the Congress party
is meeting in New Delhi to assess the latest developments. The Prime Minister,
Dr. Manmohan Singh, will convene a meeting to the Union Cabinet after the Congress
meeting to decide on the next steps in the rescue operation. Earlier reports said
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would conduct two fly-bys at 9.30
a.m. and 10.30 a.m. respectively with the help of CARTOSAT One and Two as part
of their intensified search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on Thursday. State Government sources said that they have
narrowed down the search to a five-square kilometer radius in the Nallamala Forest
Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister
may have gone down on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. Notwithstanding a
heavy cloud cover, a three-pronged search operation has been launched. Four helicopters
have taken off for the search. At least 700 villagers, bow and arrow wielding
Chenchu tribals who are familiar with the terrain and former Naxals have reportedly
joined in the search operations. The State Government has refused to make any
comment on the latest developments in view of the fact that there are conflicting
reports with regard to the copter's whereabouts. There is a lot of cross-checking
being done to come up with verifiable facts. Reddy''''s chopper went missing while
he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor. He was accompanied by his Principal
Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two
pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with
Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for
Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad. ISRO chief G. Madhavan
Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite
images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been
taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister's
whereabouts. As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested
the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned
vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is
being kept on standby. The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police
and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive
search and rescue operation for Reddy. About 250 Army personnel with night vision
devices have joined the search operations. "We have deployed two columns and one
Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief
Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and
hand held thermal imagers," Army officials said. Congress president Sonia Gandhi
is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy's anguished family
members and to get a hand on assessment of the search operation. She has already
sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh
affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office
Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons
that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the
chief minister. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that
while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried
about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for
the search. He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search
of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing Sukhoi 30 aircraft with synthetic
aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service. Forces on the ground
are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals. Narayanan
said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the
probability of a Naxal strike. "I don''''t think the Naxals have the capability
to bring down a helicopter," he said. "There is no question about calling off
the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the
Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries," he added.
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