NEW DELHI, India ? The speaker of the Indian Parliament’s lower house was killed today in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a television channel reported.

G.M.C. Balayogi, his security guard and a pilot were killed when the helicopter hit a tree in fog just after take off from Bhimavaram, where Balayogi attended a rally, Star TV said.

It does not appear the crash was related to Hindu-Muslim violence in India’s western Gujarat state that has killed more than 400 people since Wednesday, media reports said.