Crescent International
Breaking News – Updated 2:30 pm (Toronto time)
Latest reports from Iran say that contact has been made with two people on board the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ibrahim Raeisi.
Because officials made contact ‘several times” with a passenger and member of the flight crew shortly after the crash, “it appears that the incident was not severe.”
The Fars news agency quoted Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri following the helicopter’s “hard landing”.
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Uploaded at 1:45 pm (Toronto Time)
Sunday May 19, 2024
A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ibrahim Raeisi was forced to make a “hard landing” in the city of Jolfa in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan.
This was confirmed by Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, according to a report by Press TV.
The helicopter was transporting President Raeisi after he inaugurated a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Accompanying the Iranian president on the helicopter were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of Tabriz city Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem and several other passengers.
It encountered difficulties and was forced to make a “hard landing,” according to the Press TV report.
Severe fog in the Dizmar forest where the helicopter went down, is hampering rescue efforts.
Forty rescue teams have reached the area and started search operations but they are hampered by bad weather.
Babak Yektaparast, spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services organisation, says aerial searches became untenable shortly after darkness fell.
“Unfortunately, continuing aerial operations was no longer possible due to intense fog across the region,” he said, adding that more ambulances were dispatched.
But the official stressed that air ambulances are standing prepared in Tabriz and Tehran.
The forest where the helicopter went down is located between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa.
Red Crescent rescue helicopters are currently unable to fly, and teams are conducting a ground search of the area.
Millions of people worldwide have joined the Rahbar, Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei in praying for the safety of President Raisi and other officials on the helicopter with him.
“We hope that the Almighty God returns the respected and esteemed President and his companions to the embrace of the nation,” Imam Khamenei said after he received the news on Sunday.
The Rahbar urged all Iranians to pray for the health and safety of President Raisi and other officials accompanying him on the helicopter.
“The people of Iranian should not be worried or anxious, there will be no disruption to the work of the country,” the Rahbar assured people.
The Middle East Eye, based on a story carried by Reuters that quote an unnamed Iranian official, said the lives of President Raeisi and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian were “at risk following the crash”.
“We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning,” the official was quoted as saying.
There are real worries for their safety.
The terrain where the helicopter went down is difficult.
Bad weather and fog are also hampering rescue efforts.
The longer it takes to reach the site where the helicopter went down, the greater the risk to the passengers’ well-being.
(It is a developing story and will be updated as further news comes in)
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