A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and members of his delegation reportedly crashed on Sunday and rescuers have been unable to locate it until 9.30 pm local time.
IRNA reports that the area of the crash is in the Dizmar forest, between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan province as the president was returning from an event to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Two other helicopters of the delegation of President Raisi that were traveling with the missing one at the time of the crash are understood to have been located.
The European Union is activating the Copernicus EMS satellite mapping service in response to the crash, following an “Iranian request for assistance,” European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič stated on Twitter/X on Sunday evening.
Rescue mission hampered by weather conditions
The news of the missing aircraft was confirmed on state TV by Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who spoke of “a hard landing” and announced that search and rescue efforts were underway.
“Various rescue groups are moving towards the site, but due to the fog and bad weather, it may take time to reach the area. The work is under control,” Vahidi said.
“There have been contacts with [the president’s] companions, but given that the area is mountainous and it is difficult to establish contacts, we hope that the rescue teams will reach the site of the incident sooner and give us more information,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the Governor of East Azarbaijan Province Malek Rahmati were also aboard the missing helicopter.
In the latest update on Sunday evening, Iran government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi wrote on Twitter/X that rescue teams were still experiencing difficult and complicated conditions.
He acknowledged that “it is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president’s helicopter accident, but according to the coordinates of the accident site and the weather conditions, there is no news until now.”
New footage of the site of the accident for the helicopter carrying the president @Raisi_com pic.twitter.com/5yMzbHEtsk
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) May 19, 2024
Intensive efforts to locate Iran President’s helicopter crash site
A total of 40 teams are searching the area, according to local official Pirhossein Koulivand, chief of Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS). It was explained that the weather conditions make air searching impossible, however, drones were sent to the area to help locate the crash site.
Iranian commando units and Special Forces are also assisting in the search operation, per IRNA. Eight ambulances with emergency medical crew are also attending the area of the crash.
The President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were involved in a “Significant Helicopter Crash” earlier today while Traveling back from a Diplomatic Meeting in Azerbaijan. The Crash is believed to have occurred in a Heavily Forested Area… pic.twitter.com/mrFfBMSVXl
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 19, 2024
In the meantime, the official Instagram account of President Raisi and the Iranian state television urged the people of Iran to pray for the president and his delegation.
Raisi became the 8th president of Iran in 2021, when he won the election with 62.9 percent of the votes, succeeding Hassan Rouhani. He had lost the previous election to Rouhani in 2017.