The helicopter carrying Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy from Hyderabad to Chittoor on Wednesday deviated 18 km from its path towards east,near Rudrakoduru in the Nallamala forest range in Kurnool district,before it hit a cliff and crashed. "The chopper hit the cliff,crashed and exploded. All the five persons in the ill-fated helicopter were burnt to death," state Finance Minister K Rosaiah and Chief Secretary P Ramakanth Reddy said in Hyderabad on Thursday. The chopper might have drifted from its path because of a large cloud formation due to inclement weather and ended up hitting the cliff,they said. Except the tail portion,the body of the Bell-430 helicopter of AP Aviation Corporation was reduced to bits and pieces in the mishap.
