Raisi was not found, a massive search operation is underway
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photo: Collected
Hours after the helicopter crash, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian have not been found.
A massive search operation is underway in remote mountainous areas of Iran's East Azerbaijan province to find them. However, the rescue operation is being hampered due to hostile weather, the country's officials said.
On Sunday (May 19), President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi went to inaugurate a dam in the border area of Azerbaijan. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was also there.
From there, Ibrahim Raisi and other officials with him were returning to Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province, with a fleet of three helicopters. En route, the helicopter carrying the president crashed near the Zolfa region of East Azerbaijan. The other two helicopters reached their destination safely.
Apart from the Iranian president and foreign minister, Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Hashem, the spokesman of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in this province, were in the crashed helicopter.
As the location of the crashed helicopter could not be identified even after a few hours of the accident, there were fears whether they would be rescued alive.
An Iranian official, who did not want to be named, told AFP, "We are still optimistic." But the news coming from the accident site is very worrying. The hostile weather and heavy fog made it difficult for the rescuers to reach the crash site.
The country's Meteorological Department says that the area may experience severe weather till Monday night. An official of the local weather department said there may be rain and heavy fog overnight in the area where the helicopter carrying the president crashed. He said that such weather may remain till Monday.
Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that time is needed to identify the location of the crashed helicopter. He said, "Many rescue teams are searching for the missing helicopter. But time is needed to know where the helicopter crashed because the weather conditions there are very hostile. Along with the rain, there is heavy fog. This is disrupting the rescue work.
Quoting officials involved in the rescue operation, the local media reported that 40 rescue teams participated in the rescue operation. Rescuers are accompanied by ambulances and drones. Emergency services personnel, police and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as the military joined the search operation, the country's army chief, Mohammad Bagheri, said.
Ahmad Ali Reza Beigi, an Iranian parliamentarian elected from Tabriz, said rescuers have not yet identified the location of the crashed helicopter. Heavy rain and fog made their rescue difficult.
Iran's Tasnim media reported that an emergency phone call from the helicopter informed that the helicopter had crashed. The phone call was made by the officials accompanying the President in the helicopter. However, the connection was disconnected before the end of the conversation.
Local media reported that a massive search operation was launched after receiving the news of the helicopter crash. But the helicopter has not been found yet. Rescue work is hampered due to rain and fog.
Iran's Fars news agency reported that in the darkness of the night, nothing can be seen even five meters away in the inaccessible mountainous area. Due to this, the rescue workers are facing a lot of complications.
The cabinet members of the country held an emergency meeting in the situation. After the meeting, the Vice President and some ministers went to Tabriz. IRGC chief Hossein Salami went to the accident site to speed up the rescue operation. He held meetings with various levels of commanders, ministers and local officials of IRGC.
Many other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq, have expressed concern over the crash of the helicopter carrying Ibrahim Raisi. Turkey has sent a 32-member rescue team to assist in the rescue operation. These rescue workers are especially skilled in mountain rescue operations.
