Sat 18 May 2024:
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is still missing after a helicopter he was traveling on was involved in an accident in a mountainous area of the country’s East Azerbaijan province.
Foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also traveling on the same aircraft, which is still missing.
Weather conditions are hampering rescue efforts, according to state media.
Iranian political analyst Mohammad Marandi pointed out that Raisi had been in the border region after meeting Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday to inaugurate a dam.
President Raisi met his Azeri counterpart earlier in the day
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi (L) during a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev ahead of the inauguration ceremony of Qiz Qalasi, the third dam jointly built by Iran and Azerbaijan on the Aras River pic.twitter.com/QKQKKzm93K
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 19, 2024
“The president was also planning to visit a couple of provinces in the north; he does travel a lot in the country,” Marandi told Al Jazeera. “We have 30 provinces and every year he’s promised to travel to each province at least once, so he’s constantly on the move.”
The last picture taken of the helicopter carrying President Raisi pic.twitter.com/FlV0tmfBMo
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 19, 2024
“It does seem that there was very bad weather; it is very foggy. The footage from the rescue team does show that it’s very difficult to see there. It could be that the helicopter pilot didn’t want to risk it, and he swiftly brought down the helicopter; it could be something else.”
People in the Iranian city of Mashhad have gathered to pray for President Ebrahim Raisi as the country waits with bated breath to see whether he and the ministers travelling with him will be found.
Iran helicopter accident: President Raisi, FM on missing aircraft
The weather in the area of the accident is not helping the rescue operation pic.twitter.com/1gbYBkBjil
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 19, 2024
Who was on the missing helicopter?
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian
East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati
Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, representative of Iranian Supreme Leader to East Azerbaijan
The helicopter crashed close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jofa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.
Iran helicopter accident: President Raisi, FM on missing aircraft
Poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and fog have made it hard for authorities to locate the helicopter.
The Iranian state news agency IRNA called the mountainous area a “forest” and state television has… pic.twitter.com/rY41wURAZf
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 19, 2024
The Iranian Red Crescent says they have deployed 14 separate teams to the region… as of now the teams arrived to the area, however not to the specific spot where the helicopter just crashed. The reason for that they say, is the harsh weather conditions.
Poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and fog have made it hard for authorities to locate the helicopter.
The Iranian state news agency IRNA called the mountainous area a “forest” and state television has aired footage of SUVs traveling through a wooded area.
A rescue helicopter has been unable to reach the area where Raisi’s helicopter was thought to be due to heavy mist, emergency services spokesperson Babak Yektaparast told IRNA.
Images of the search teams arriving to the area have been posted on X by Iranian state media.
Iran’s interior minister says authorities are waiting on further details
The minister also confirmed that rescue teams are still on their way because of the difficult weather conditions in the mountainous area where the incident took place.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
YOUTUBE (CLICK HERE)
https://www.youtube.com/@ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
