A helicopter carrying the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi had an accident on Sunday during a visit to the northwest of the country, as reported by the country’s television.
The incident reportedly occurred as a result of dense fog in the region, which is making conditions difficult for rescue teams, the TV said.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian was also aboard the copter.
Raisi was traveling in East Azerbaijan province. The incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran.
Raisi had been in Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
According to the TV, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said the helicopter was forced to make emergency landing due to the whether condition.
According to a report, the helicopter carrying president Ebrahim Raeisi had to land in East Azarbaijan due to bad weather conditions.
Unconfirmed social media reports say an incident took place for one of the 3 helicopters carrying the Iranian President’s convoy on the visit to East Azarbaijan Province in northwest Iran on Sunday.
Mehr reporter’s follow-up on the news indicate that a few minutes ago, the helicopter carrying the president landed on the ground due to the foggy weather in the northern region of East Azarbaijan.
The president and his convoy were traveling the distance between Khodaafarin and Tabriz.
Some local media reports suggest that the chopper had a hard landing.
The Friday Prayers Imam of Tabriz, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and some other ministers and high-ranking officials are accompanying the president Raeisi.
The rescue and search team are reported to have faced difficulties in reaching the site of the hard landing of the copter.
The interior minister Ahmad Vahidi has confirmed to the national TV that one of the copters of the president’s convoy had a hard landing.
“Various rescue groups are moving towards the site, but due to the fog and bad weather, it may take time to reach the area. The work is under control,” Vahidi said.
“There have been contacts with [the president’s] companions, but given that the area is mountainous and it is difficult to establish contacts, we hope that the rescue teams will reach the site of the incident sooner and give us more information,” the interior minister added.
Local Iranian media have reported that it is heavily raining in the area in Varzaghan District and it is hard for the rescue and search teams to walk in the dense fog.
