Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has dispatched more groups to help locate the site where a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan, according to IRCS chief Pirhossein Koulivand.
President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran’s border with the Azerbaijan Republic, when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region on Sunday.
Rapid response and rescue teams of neighboring provinces have been called to help in the search and rescue operation, Koulivand said.
A total of 40 teams are searching the area, the official said, while noting that inclement weather conditions and the impassability of the area are hampering the operation.
He noted that the weather conditions make air searching impossible. Koulivand, however, added that drones have been sent to the area to help locate the crash site.
Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s deputy president for executive affairs Mohsen Mansouri has said that two members of President Ebrahim Raisi’s entourage have contacted rescue teams, and this shows that the air incident involving their helicopter has not been rough.
Mansouri said on Sunday that the helicopter of President Raisi and two more copters were en route to the city of Tabriz after the president and his Azerbaijani counterpart inaugurated Qiz Qalasi Dam at the border between the two countries.
Half an hour into their flight, Raisi’s helicopter lost contact with the two other copters, which prompted them to search the area, Mansouri said, adding that two members of the president’s entourage contacted rescue teams, which shows that the incident has not been hard.
Another promising point is that the Ministry of Communications has been able to determine the location of the accident within a radius of two kilometers, he added.
