The Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, Ramakant Reddy spoke to CNN-IBN about the search and rescue operation which was to continue through the night in search of the missing chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy amongst others. A low-flying aircraft was deployed with the facility to pick signals from metal objects.
Ramakant Reddy said all stops had been pulled out and every feasible method was pressed into service as the hunt for the chopper and its occupants was on in full swing.
CNN-IBN: The entire search operation is concentrated on the Nallamalla forest area. Does the administration have hope to believe that a chopper can really land safely in a dense forest area like the Nallamala forest area?
Ramakant Reddy: At the moment we are not predicting either this way or the other. Normally there is a beacon signal which comes when an aircraft crash lands. Since there was no beacon signal and we have sent out five choppers which have scouted around the area and none of these choppers have been able to pick up the beacon distress signal.
CNN-IBN: We are also being told that you pressed in Sukhois and that you are taking help from the Yelahanka airbase of the Air Force. A short while ago, when we spoke to you, you spoke about the possibility of a low-flying aircraft that you were going to use over the forested area even through the night. So we presume that the operations are to continue through the night, Sir?
Ramakant Reddy: Yes, the low flying aircraft has already started at 8.10 pm and it would shortly be going over the affected area. It also has the facility to refuel from air to air without landing. That is the reason why we have pressed this aircraft into service so it can search continuously. It also has the capacity to detect any metal object's signal.
CNN-IBN: Obviously, every facility has been pressed into service at this moment. Whether it be the Sukhoi or this low flying aircraft, these are going to help us in the next couple of hours. How is the imagery picked up by the low-flying aircraft going to help us and let us know whether you have found any metal objects or picked up any signals. How soon will this be known?
Ramakant Reddy: We have 41 imageries picked up by the low flying aircraft of the ISRO Bangalore. They would take about another three hours or so to analyse. So I am expecting some news from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) in Hyderabad after going through the ISRO satellite images.
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