Friday, September 4, 2009

YSR Reddy search operation details

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EW DELHI - The following is the timeline of the search operations to locate the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy:

Wednesday, Sep 2:

8.30 a.m. - Bell 430 helicopter carrying YSR and four others takes off from Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport.

9.35 a.m. - Radio contact lost with helicopter.

1 p.m. - Indian Air force receives request for search and rescue operations.

1.15-1.20 p.m. - Two Chetak helicopters take off from Hakimpet training base in Secunderabad.

3 p.m. - A Mi-8 helicopter takes off from Bangalore’s Yelahanka air base. It starts scanning the area indicated by state government agencies.

4.30 p.m. - A Dornier aircraft takes off from Yelahanka. It flies from Yelahanka to Kadapa, Srisailam, and Chittoor before returning to base. It was equipped with a synthetic aperture radar that can look through heavy cloud cover.

5 p.m. - An Avro aircraft and two Chetak helicopters take off from Hyderabad. An operation room is set up at Kurnool.

6.45 p.m. - Decision taken to press into service Sukhoi SU-30MKIs combat aircraft for mapping the densely forested area in which the Bell 430 is believed to have crashed.

8.40 p.m. - Two SU-30s and an IL-78 midair refueller take off from the Bareilly air base and land back at midnight.

Thursday, Sep 3:

2.15 a.m. - A SU-30 and an IL-78 undertake another mission that lasts till 8.30 a.m.

6.30 a.m. - Chetak helicopter resumes search mission.

8.30 a.m. - Wreckage of crashed Bell 430 spotted.

9.28 a.m. - Paracommandos slither down to the crash site from a Mi-8 helicopter as no room for chopper to land.

9.30 a.m. - Three more commandos slither down from a Dhruv advanced light helicopter.

10.45 a.m. - Bodies of YSR and four other passengers of the crashed helicopter are winched up to a Dhruv and a Mi-8 helicopter in bags.

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