TEHRAN – A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has been involved in an accident, state media reports.
Reports say the helicopter – one of three travelling in a convoy – made a “hard landin” after it got into difficulties in heavy fog in the north of the country on Sunday.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said rescuers were still trying to reach the site due to the difficult weather conditions.
Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the north west of Iran, after returning from an Iran-Azerbaijan border area, according to local media.
A major search operation has been launched.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to “not worry” following reports of the helicopter crash, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work”.
The IRNA news agency reported that more than 40 rescue teams using search dogs and drones were sent to the crash site.
Raisi was returning from an area near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, where he opened two dams with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, before reports of an accident emerged.
Aliyev said he was “profoundly troubled” after hearing news of the helicopter crash, adding that Azerbaijan was ready to offer any assistance needed.
A US state department spokesperson said it was “closely following reports of a possible hard landing”, but offered no further comment.
Iran’s interior minister said it will take “time to get to the location” of the crash site because of “bad weather conditions and fog in the area”. (BBC)
