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Lok Sabha Speaker G MC Balayogi dies in helicopter crash

Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi died in a helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, sources in the Speaker's office said.

The private helicopter in which Balayogi was travelling from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district crashed in a fishpond near Kaikalur in Krishna district.

The helicopter carrying the Speaker, his gunman and an assistant developed a technical snag after it took off from Bhimavaram at 7:45 am.

His additional Private Secretary K S Raju and the pilot of the chopper also died in the accident.

The Speaker was to take a train from Nidadavolu for Secunderabad on Saturday night and should have reached there on Saturday morning, but fate willed otherwise.

Balayogi had a busy day on Saturday attending functions in Eleru and Taluku in West Godavari district.

He also opened Sir Arthur Cotton Raithu Hall and an Ambedkar Bhawan at Eleru.

The charred bodies of the Speaker and other occupants have been shifted to the government hospital at Eluru.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Home Minister T Devender Goud and Union Minister B Dattatreya and others have rushed to Eluru by helicopter.

The body of the Speaker will be shifted to his Hyderabad residence later on Sunday to enable people to pay their last respects.

The funeral will be held at his hometown Mummadivaram on Monday, official sources said.

A pall of gloom descended on Balayogi's residence at Kundanbagh locality with a steady stream of mourners thronging the premises.

The private helicopter, belonging to Deccan Aviation, developed a technical snag a few minutes after it left Bhimavaram, and hit a coconut tree before hurtling into a fish pond near Kuvvadalanka village, official sources said.

There was an explosion soon after the chopper crashed into the pond, they said.

Balayogi had suffered severe head injuries, the sources added.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Malakondaiah was the first to reach the spot and arranged for shifting the bodies to the hospital.

Special army helicopters are being sent to Eluru and postmortem would be done at the government hospital there, sources added.

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