The body of YSR and others would be brought to Hyderabad later in the day.
Earlier, when elite commandos were lowered to the crash site atop a hillock in the thickly forested Nallamala hills, they found badly burnt bodies.
The commandos, who earlier planned to shift the bodies to Kurnool, had to abandon the process as the bodies were completely charred and needed specialists to shift them.
The bodies were left at the site till specialists were flown in. Making matters worse was the heavy downpour and hostile terrain.
The commandos could find the bodies of YSR and his special secretary P Subramaniam, Chief Security Officer ASC Weseley and that of a pilot. It took some time to locate the body of one pilot.
The BEL-430 chopper was piloted by Group Captain S K Bhatia and Captain M S Reddy.
Addressing the media in Delhi, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram confirmed that the bodies are still at the crash site and would be shifted later. The helicopter was broken into pieces indicating that there was a violent crash followed by fire.
Sources said that once YSR's body is brought to Hyderabad, it would be kept at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad for the public to pay homage. It was in the very stadium that YSR took oath of office as CM for the second term 111 days ago.
Later, his body will be taken to his home town of Pulivendala in Cuddapah district for last rights. This is expected to take place on Friday.
YSR's wife Vijayalaxmi and family members were informed of the tragedy. While his son and Member of Parliament Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy camped in Kurnool to coordinate the search operations, YSR's daughter Sharmila and her children reached Hyderabad from Bangalore in the early hours of Thursday.
The chief minister's son-in-law evangelist Brother Anil Kumar is returning to Hyderabad by cutting short his visit to the US. Sources said that crack commandos who were dropped over the crash site found and retrieved the bodies. The bodies are being flown to Hyderabad were a post-mortem will be conducted.
There was utter shock and disbelief in the State Secretariat where senior ministers, officials and others had gathered. As the news trickled in, people around the secretariat were found dismayed. Close to the Secretariat, the Ganesh immersion ceremony which was taking place has been scaled down.
YSR, who turned 60 on July 8, had just completed 110 days in office in his second term when he met an untimely end.
Senior Congress leaders are in Hyderabad to assess the situation.
Source: India Syndicate
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