Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were on board the helicopter that suffered a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, Iranian state media say.
Rescuers say they found the helicopter but Raisi’s condition remains unclear.
Iran’s Fars News Agency has called on Iranians to pray for President Raisi.
Countries across the Middle East express concern for Raisi’s safety and have offered to help Iran in the search and rescue efforts.
Raisi was returning from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, where he and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated a cooperative dam project, the latest sign of warming relations between the two countries. Twenty rescue teams as well as an unknown number drones have been sent to the area where the helicopter came down.
Information is slowly emerging on this incident, but here is what we know so far.
What happened?
Reports of a helicopter in the president’s convoy crashing first circulated on social media and were quickly picked up by local media. An initial report by the state-linked Mehr news website said Raisi had opted to travel to Tabriz by car due to the foggy weather conditions, and that he was safe.
The news was subsequently taken down after state television confirmed that the missing helicopter was carrying Raisi and the other officials. State television said the helicopter suffered a “hard landing”.
A “hard landing” is when an aircraft lands harder and faster than it should, because of the weather, pilot errors, or mechanical issues.
Who was in the helicopter?
Travelling with Ebrahim Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to East Azerbaijan, according to state media.
Where did the helicopter fall?
It fell in the Dizmar Protected Area, a wildlife corridor across the border with Azerbaijan.
State TV initially said the helicopter fell near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan but later it put it farther east near the village of Uzi.
Source: AL Jazeera
BDST: 0932 HRS, MAY 20, 2024
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