New Delhi, Sep 3 - A 'deeply hurt' former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday paid tributes to Andra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash. Vajpayee said YSR was an energetic and hardworking leader.

'I am deeply hurt by the sad demise of Andhra Pradesh chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Dr Reddy was a hardworking, energetic and committed politician full of potential. With his death, Andhra Pradesh has lost a progressive leader,' Vajpayee said in a message here.

'I pay my homage to him. I pray to God that the departed soul rest in peace and give strength to his bereaved family to bear the pain,' the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran said.

The former prime minister also paid tributes to the four others who died in the helicopter crash along with YSR, as the Andhra chief minister was better known.