Iranian President, Top Officials Experience Helicopter ‘Accident’, Search Underway – DEVELOPING STORY

May 19, 2024 Blog, News
An archived photo of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi next to his helicopter. (Photo: Tansim)

UPDATES:

AL-MAYADEEN:

Signals received from the president’s helicopter; rescuers are rushing to precise place of accident.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safri: Imam Juma Tabriz was contacted twice and told us that his situation is bad, but he hears ambulances.

Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Major General Hossein Salami arrives at the scene of the helicopter incident to follow up on the search operations closely.

HAMAS:

We are following with great interest and concern the news about the emergency landing of the helicopter carrying His Excellency, the President of the Iranian Republic, Ebrahim Raisi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and their accompanying delegation in northwest Iran, and the loss of contact with them.

In this painful incident, we express our complete solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the leadership, government, and people, and we ask Allah Almighty for protection and peace for the Iranian President and his accompanying delegation, and to keep the brotherly Iranian people away from all harm and evil.

MAHAR NEWS AGENCY (citing Iranian intelligence): The helicopter of the president has ‘fallen’ and we call on all citizens to only listen to official channels regarding this matter.

IRANIAN TV: Iranian President’s helicopter fell as a result of bad weather and it is unclear if the passengers have been wounded or martyred. Reports on the killing and wounding of those on the helicopter are unconfirmed and cannot be trusted.

AL-MAYADEEN: It is estimated that Iranian rescue teams will reach the precise position of the Iranian president’s helicopter in half an hour.

HAMAS POLITICAL BUREAY IZZAT AL-RISHQ: Our hearts are with the brotherly Iranian people. We ask God Almighty, Lord of the Great Throne, to be kind to the Iranian President, the Foreign Minister, and all those with them.

IRANIAN MEDIA: Iranian chief of staff orders the Revolutionary Guard, army and police to use all of their resources to find the president’s helicopter.

IRANIAN OFFICIAL (to Reuters): News coming from the area of the helicopter crash is very worrying.

AL-MAYADEEEN: Iranian Vice President heads to Tabriz to follow up on the search for the president’s helicopter.

IRANIAN TV: Red Crescent chief in Iran says it is not possible to continue to search by air due to bad weather conditions.

40 teams are participating in the search for the president’s helicopter.

IRAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Government council meeting is underway.

TASNIM NEWS AGENCY: A large number of civil defense forces are taking part in the search for the President’s helicopter

TASNIM NEWS AGENCY: Bad weather conditions make it difficult to locate President’s helicopter.

IRANIAN EMERGENCY SERVICES: Red Crescent rescue workers and drones have been sent to the area where the incident took place.

IRANIAN INTERIOR MINISTER:

We are waiting for rescue workers to arrive so that we may learn more information about what has taken place.

There are difficulties in communicating with rescue workers.

Here is the original story from The Palestine Chronicle.

The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was not the only top official in the missing helicopter. This is a developing story.

An accident has reportedly occurred to the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in northwestern Iran, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

“The accident reportedly happened as the president was returning from the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azerbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan,” it added.

Some people in the president’s entourage have reportedly contacted the command center, raising hopes that the accident has had no casualties, Tasnim also reported.

“The president’s convoy included three helicopters. Two of the choppers carrying a number of ministers and officials have landed safely.”

The Iranian president was not the only top official in the helicopter. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the Friday prayers leader of Tabriz, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, were also on board the helicopter carrying the president, according to Tasnim.

“The rescue teams from the Red Crescent Society of Iran, the military force and the Police have been deployed to the area to find the helicopter.”

Iranian media are quoting locals in the areas saying that the situation is unclear because of the foggy conditions in the area.

This is how this story developed in a chronological order:

Iranian TV: Initial reports of a difficult landing of a helicopter carrying the Iranian president in the province of East Azerbaijan.

Iranian TV: Rescue teams seek to reach the site of the accident.

Iranian News Agency (IRNA): Foreign Minister and a number of officials were on board the helicopter with the Iranian President.

Iranian TV: Harsh weather conditions and thick fog make efforts of rescue teams difficult.

Tasnim News Agency: A large group of relief forces is searching for the helicopter carrying the Iranian president.

Tasnim agency quoting local residents: Due to fog and bad weather conditions, the helicopter’s situation is still unknown.

This is a developing story.

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(The Palestine Chronicle)

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