New Delhi, Sep 3 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday mourned the death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, saying he was an 'ideal chief minister who was a role model for other states'.

In a personal touch to a condolence message he sent to the chief minister's wife Vijayalaxmi, the prime minister said in the death of Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, he had lost a valued colleague on whom he 'depended for support and ideas'.

Describing him as a 'natural leader who was loved equally by the public, his colleagues and the common man', Manmohan Singh said 'it was with a deep sense of grief and personal loss' that he learnt of YSR's 'tragic and untimely demise'.

The chief minister died in a helicopter crash and his charred body was found Thursday along with four others.

'The void his passing away has left behind will never be filled,' Manmohan Singh said.

'Rajasekharaji died as he lived - in the service of the people of Andhra Pradesh and the country. In his untimely passing away, the state of Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader, and the country has lost an ideal chief minister who was a role model for other states,' Manmohan Singh said in a statement issued here.

'I have lost a valued colleague on whom I depended for support and ideas. Rajasekharaji's life was one of tireless commitment and service to the people, especially the poor and the underprivileged.