Nation lost a man of masses: Antony
September 3rd, 2009 - 4:20 pm ICT by IBNSNew Delhi, Sept 3 (IBNS) Condoling the death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy, Defence Minister AK Antony said India lost ‘a man of the masses’.
“I had known Mr Reddy from close quarters for many years. The nation has lost a man of the masses and the people of Andhra Pradesh have lost a true son of the soil’, Antony said in his message.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family members of the departed leader and to the people of Andhra Pradesh,” Antony said.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Thursday confirmed that Reddy has died in a chopper crash near Kurnool district.
The Bell 430 helicopter carrying Reddy, two of his staff and two pilots went missing in pouring rain Wednesday morning over the Naxal and tiger-infested Nalamalla forests and with no contact until early Thursday.
The army found five bodies and remains of the burnt aircraft in the Nallamalla forest near Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district.
“Andhra CM YSR Reddy, Principal Secretary S Subramanyam, Chief Security Officer ASC Wesley and two pilots - Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy, have died in the air crash,” said the PMO.
An Indian Air Force helicopter located the crashed Bell 430 aircraft on top of Serai Salem hill at a distance of 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Kurnool Thursday.
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Tags: air crash, air force helicopter, bell 430 helicopter, bhatia, chief security officer, close quarters, defence minister, group captain, heartfelt condolences, ibns, indian air force, kurnool district, mr reddy, naxal, pmo, pouring rain, principal secretary, salem hill, son of the soil, true son