He is also credited with crushing the Maoist movement in Andhra Pradesh, a long-time ultra-Left bastion.

In a sign of desperation, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Ramakant Reddy urged anyone who gets to know anything to contact the police.

'So far we have not been able to get any confirmation (about the chief minister). It is possible that because of the strong winds and heavy rains, it may have landed in some unfamiliar area,' Reddy said here. 'If you land in an unfamiliar forested area, getting out will be very difficult.'

He urged people living in the forested region to 'kindly help us. If you get any signal, any reliable information, contact the nearest police station'.

With no word on YSR's whereabouts and the helicopter more than 11 hours after it went missing at 9.35 a.m., thousands of emotive supporters gathered at the Congress office in Hyderabad. Scores prayed for his safety in temples, mosques and churches in the state.

At the state secretariat, crowds shouted 'Long live YSR' and called him a friend of the poor. Security personnel had a tough time controlling the crowds.

Retired Air Marshal Denzil Keelor said the twin-engine helicopter would have faced hostile weather. 'Visibility was very bad, there was no restriction on the height (the pilot) was flying. It is most dangerous to fly low level in bad weather.'

A doctor by training, YSR is one of the most influential leaders in the Congress after leading the party again to a spectacular win in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in April-May this year.

Elected to the state assembly for the fifth time, YSR is also a four-time Lok Sabha MP and holds the record of never losing an election. He is the first Congress chief minister to rule Andhra Pradesh for five years and then retain to office.

Earlier Wednesday, Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Minister P. Subhash Chandra Bose said the chief minister was safe after the helicopter landed in Kurnool district, but police declined to back the minister's claim.

Eventually, the state government distanced itself from the minister's statement.