Gambiaj.com – (TEHRAN) – A helicopter in the convoy of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in “an accident” on Sunday, state media reported, without specifying if the president was on board.
“Reports say that the helicopter carrying President Raisi has had an accident in East Azerbaijan province,“ state television said, adding that rescue efforts were underway.
“The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site,“ state TV said in an on-screen news alert.
According to local media, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and local officials were travelling in the same helicopter as Raisi.
Raisi was visiting East Azerbaijan province on Sunday where he inaugurated a dam project in the company of his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries.
Images and videos have confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions were riding a US-manufactured Bell 212 helicopter.
The two-blade aircraft is a medium-sized helicopter that has a 15-seat capacity, with one pilot and fourteen passengers.
It is unclear how many people are on Raisi’s helicopter, including flight crew and potential security personnel.
Raisi, 63, has been president of the Islamic Republic since June 2021.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Hossein Salami has arrived at the general area of the crash to help lead search-and-rescue efforts.
A crisis management meeting is in session with top IRGC commanders, ministers, the first vice president and local officials, according to state media.
The European Commission is activating satellite mapping service to aid search efforts, following a request for assistance from Iran, the European commissioner for crisis management said.
The US State Department have said they are aware of reports of the helicopter going down somewhere between Tabriz and Tehran, the Iranian capital.
But beyond that the State Department doesn’t have any comment on the situation. It’s important to remember that since 1979, the United States and Iran have not enjoyed diplomatic relations.
And certainly the US would not be offering any assistance to help in the search for the helicopter carrying the Iranian president, as would be the case of an allied helicopter going down.
The European Commission’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service provides mapping products based on satellite imagery.
Crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said on X that the service was activating its “rapid response mapping service in view of the helicopter accident”.
“Russia is ready to extend all necessary help in the search for the missing helicopter and the investigation of the reasons for the incident,” RIA quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.
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