United States President George W Bush, accompanied by First Lady Laura Bush, left Washington, DC for India and Pakistan on a five-day trip.

Bush -- seen taking a helicopter to Andrews Air Base -- boarded Air Force One at around 1.45 pm local time (0000 IST) on Tuesday after a meeting at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

He will reach New Delhi at about 1915 on Wednesday evening.

This is the American president's first trip to the sub-continent

Photograph: Courtesy The White House