20 May 2024 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and senior officials in northwestern Iran has suffered a crash with no information available yet on potential injuries or damage, the Iranian media reported.
Search operations, hampered by fog, challenging terrain and heavy rain, were going on by the time this edition went to print last night.
According to the Iranian media, President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region on Sunday. Conflicting reports have emerged with some suggesting the crashed helicopter has been found.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Governor of East Azarbaijan Province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz Friday prayer leader Hojjatoleslam Al Hashem and a number of others were also on board the helicopter.
IRNA correspondent says rescue and relief teams have been dispatched to the area and search operations continue.
Foggy weather and the impassability of the area have made the search operations difficult.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told Iran’s state television that due to the tough weather conditions, it may take time for the search and rescue team to reach the site of the crash.
Minister of Health Bahram Einollahi, who is also present in the area, has said that all the medical equipment, including ambulance buses, specialist doctors and surgeons have been dispatched to the area of the crash to help possible injured people.The world leaders started wishing for the well-being of the Iranian people during this difficult time. On behalf of Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa took to X and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people.
The Iranian leader visited Sri Lanka for the inauguration of a hydropower and irrigation project in Sri Lanka last month. The project is seen as an Iranian engineering marvel.
He was the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad visited the country in 2008.
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