Andhra CM still not traceable, search operation on

Uncertainty continues over the whereabouts of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, whose helicopter went missing at 10.30 am amid bad weather.

There are no confirmed reports on the Chief Minister's or his chopper's whereabouts.

In a press conference, state Finance Minister K Rosaiah said the CM as well as the chopper was still untraceable. Rosianh said that the state government has alerted the Defence Ministry, Home Ministry. The state government was in touch with the PM and Sonia Gandhi's office.

The official further said that three IAF choppers were pressed into service out of which one came back due to inclement weather. One private chopper was also on search operation. The state government was in touch with air command Bangalore, Secundarabad.

The state government has appealed to the locals to come forth and help in the search operation since there was no comfirmed report. The official said that it is possible that the chopper might have landed in an unfamiliar forest area and were not able to contact anyone from there.

Time for search operations very limited as sunset approaching and inclement weather also hampering the operations, says state Chief Secretary.

However, according to the CM office, the Chief Minister is safe and is travelling by road. The sources say, when they landed, there was a call from one of the security guards and he said that the CM was safe.

The reason why Reddy's whereabouts are not being disclosed is because the area is heavily forested and Naxal-infested. Therefore, for security concerns, the information was not being given out. It will take about 4-6 hours to come out of the area by road, there is also heavy rainfall in the district.

However, Home Ministry is yet not confirming whether CM Reddy has been traced or not. View Larger Map

According to CNN-IBN, Reddy was finally found at Kurnool guest house after a two-hour frantic search involving Army helicopters and security agencies. According to sources, Kurnool district officials traced Reddy and took him to the guest house, channel said.

However, the state police chief as well as local police have refused to go on record confirming CM's safe landing and whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry is monitoring the situation closely. Army helicopters have been pressed into service. He was scheduled to land at 10.45 am at Chitoor, but his chopper went off radar due to bad weather.