New Delhi, Sep 3 - The Congress ordered party flags to be flown at half mast all over the country following the death of its leader, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash.

'It is a tremendous loss...for the state and the Congress party,' party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said after the bodies of YSR and four others were found in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, where the chopper they were flying in was found mangled Thursday.

The Congress has also called for state mourning.