CM has narrow escape

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday had a narrow escape as a huge tree collapsed a little after he entered his office in Samatha block in Secretariat, damaging vehicles in his convoy including the jammer and ambulance. The Chief Minister's convoy arrived at the Secretariat around 11.30 am. Ten minutes after that a huge thud was heard followed by commotion. Soon it was noticed a giant tree had fallen down, badly damaging the jammer vehicle that follows the CM's convoy, an ambulance, Chief Secretary PK Mohanty's car and a security outpost. There were no drivers in the vehicles when the incident occurred. The security personnel present there rushed to the spot and rescued an on duty police constable, Murali Krishna from East Godavari, who got trapped under the tree. Later, a bulldozer was pressed into service to remove the tree and clear the premises. Sources at the Secretariat said the damage could have been much more had the tree fallen late in the afternoon since a large number of visitors including VIPs visit C block from 3 pm onwards.