President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed
President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi is missing as the helicopter carrying him crashed this Sunday.
Iranian state television says the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi had a ‘hard landing’.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malik Rahmati and Mohammed Ali Ale-Hashem, the imam of Tabriz, were all also reportedly aboard the helicopter.
The state news agency IRNA reported that an enormous search operation involving 16 teams was underway to locate the helicopter. Inclement weather, the reports said, was hampering the effort. The teams had yet to locate the crash site after almost five hours.
State media has yet to report on casualties or confirm the whereabouts or condition of the president. The cause of the crash is also unknown.
“Given the complexities of the region, connection has been difficult, and we are hoping that the rescue teams reach the helicopter and can give us more information,” Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s interior minister, told state television.
Rescue teams are trying to locate the area where presidential copter made hard-landing pic.twitter.com/WkJoJcCKh5
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) May 19, 2024
