Crowd gathers outside the secretariat after the news of the death of Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy broke, in Hyderabad on Thursday. (PTI)

Kurnool, Sept 3 (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed when their helicopter crashed on a hillock, about 49 nautical miles east of Kurnool, more than an hour it took off from here yesterday.

The charred bodies and the wreckage of the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter were located at 8.30 AM today on a hillock, eight kms from Kurnool, 23 hours after it went missing while flying to Chittoor in south Andhra Pradesh.

“With very deep sense of regret we have to announce the death of YS Rajashekhar Reddy. He was a tall leader and it is a big loss to the country,” Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters in Delhi.

The helicopter appeared to have hit a tree, crashed and perhaps exploded. The bodies were charred and were in a state of getting decomposed because of incessant rain in the area yesterday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Ramakanth Reddy said here.

The Congress Core Group met at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and indications were that senior minister K Rosaiah will be the Acting Chief Minister before a decision on successor to Reddy is taken.

Reddy's funeral is expected to take place in his hometown in Pulivendala in Kadappa district in southern Andhra Pradesh tomorrow.