Following is a chronological account of the events that led to the tragic death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy [Images]:

September 2, 2009:

8:35 am: Twin-engined Bell 430 AP government helicopter carrying Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy takes off from old Begumpet airport. The helicopter, also carrying chief minister's Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley, heads for Chitoor district.

9:35 am: The helicopter, flown by two pilots, loses contact while possibly flying over Nallamalai forest ranges, a stronghold of the Naxalites [Images], in the Rayalaseema region. The Prime Minister's Office, Union Home Ministry and Defence Ministry alerted. Four helicopters, including three belonging to the Indian Air Force, pressed into search operations, but no contact established because of strong winds and inclement weather.

Two IAF helicopters from Hakimpet air command in Secunderabad return because of inclement weather, while three from Bangalore air command and one private helicopter from Nellore are also involved in search operations. An unmanned aerial vehicle from the Defence Ministry also pressed into service.

4 pm: Finance Minister K Rosaiah addresses press conference in Hyderabad. The time for carrying out search operations runs out as sunset approaches.

5:30 pm: Central Reserve Police Force personnel and army jawans enter Nallamalai forest with night vision devices.

6:30 pm: Search called off due to poor light and bad weather.

7 pm: IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI with thermal imaging devices deployed. Remote Sensing Agency's pilot-less aircraft deployed for aerial search during night.

Sukhoi aircraft and a pilot-less low-flying Indian Space Research Organisation aircraft scour the forest area to locate the missing chopper in a 5-km radius area.

September 3, 2009:

6:30 am: Search operations resume with the help of four choppers. Union Ministers Veerappa Moily [Images] and Prithviraj Chavan [Images] reach Hyderabade from Delhi [Images] to monitor the operations.

8:30 am: Ill-fated helicopter located 40 km east of Kurnool in the hills of Nallamalai ranges.

10 am: Bodies of chief minister and four other persons accompanying him and the mangled remains of the helicopter found on Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool.

10:30 am: Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images], Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images], Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee [Images], Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram [Images] and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel meet in the core group.

12:30 am: Home Minister P Chidambaram announces the death of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others in the helicopter crash.