Searching for Iran’s Raisi crashed helicopter continues
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on Sunday it dispatched more groups to help searching for the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that was crashed in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.
Raisi was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region, Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA said.
A helicopter carrying the Iranian President and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amirabdollahian, crashed earlier on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters.
Reuters cited the official as saying that the lives of Raisi and Amirabdollahian were “at risk following the helicopter crash”, which happened on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran’s northwest.
“We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning,” the official, who preferred anonymity, told Reuters.
Head of IRCS Operations Razieh Alishvandi said that four specialized teams are now near the crash site but they face difficulty further approaching due to bad weather conditions.