Iranian President Raisi’s helicopter involved in ‘very concerning’ crash
Reports say incident occurred near city of Jolfa along border with Azerbaijan, with rescue crews working to reach aircraft also carrying foreign minister in poor weather conditions
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, with officials later saying the situation was concerning.
Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV said the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Rescuers were attempting to reach the site, state TV said, but had been hampered by poor weather conditions in the area. There had been heavy rain reported with some wind.
An Iranian official later told Reuters that “we are still hopeful, but information coming from the crash site is very concerning.” The official said that the lives of Raisi and other officials on board are considered “at risk.”
The semi-official Fars news agency urged Iranians to pray for Raisi and state TV carried prayers for his safety.
Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word “crash” to describe the incident, but he acknowledged to an Iranian newspaper that he had yet to reach the site himself.
The Times of Israel
