The body of the Chief Minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and the four others aboard the ill-fated copter were burnt beyond recognition as the chopper went into flames immediately after it crashed on the hillocks in Nallamalla forests.
The State Government officially announced that the bodies were seen found100 meters away from the mangled parts of the helicopter on the hillocks. However, the embalming of the bodies was done inside the helicopter that brought the bodies to Kurnool from the spot.
Sources here said that the helicopter carrying the Chief Minister hit the hillocks at 9.35 am on Wednesday, 63 nautical miles from the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad and went into flames charring the Chief Minister, Dr Reddy, his special secretary, Mr Subrahmanyam, his personal security officer Wesley, pilot M S Reddy and the
co-pilot. It went off 16 km away from the radar signals, sources here said.However, the Finance Minister, Mr K Rosaiah, on Friday categorically denied that the ill-fated copter was not air-worthy. “We have perfect information that the license of the helicopter has been renewed till the end of 2010. The reports that the copter is not airworthy are wrong,” Mr Rosaiah told media persons.