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A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident.
The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein 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.
Iranian state media said bad weather caused the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter.
The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations.
Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were on board the helicopter that suffered a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Iranian supreme leader to East Azerbaijan, were also on board the missing helicopter.
Iranian state TV reports that the crash was due to adverse weather conditions.
Search team lead remains hopeful as contact was made with helicopter
One of the officials on Raisi’s helicopter and a member of the flight crew made contact after the helicopter suffered the incident, according to Mohsen Mansouri, the deputy to the president for executive affairs.
“This was one of the hopeful points in this. This shows that the severity of the incident was not very high because two of the people who were on the flight contacted our people on several instances,” the official, who is leading the search at the site, told state television.
The Red Crescent said 65 teams are now working in the area, and officials believe they are close to finding the helicopter.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey ready to assist with Raisi helicopter crash
Riyadh has expressed its support for Iran and said it was ready to provide any help required.
The Saudi foreign ministry also said the kingdom was following reports about the crash with “great concern”, according to the Saudi state news agency.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry says it is also ready to support the search-and-rescue operation.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
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