By bne Tehran bureau
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian are reportedly missing after a helicopter he was travelling in was forced to make a “hard landing” on the border of Azerbaijan, local media reported.
A massive search operation involving Red Crescent rescue teams, military personnel, and police has begun but is being hampered due to heavy fog in the region.
Initial reports suggest no one survived the crash and that Raisi and his colleagues died in the tragedy, but there has been no confirmation of this as yet.
Iranian officials were reportedly tweeting Islamic prayers in some instances, while reports from leading newspapers have been removed for the moment.
Raisi and Amir Abdollahian had earlier met with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on the border following the opening of a much-delayed dam project between the countries.
The governor of East Azerbaijan province was also on board, according to local media reports
Ahmad Alireza Beigi of the Red Cresent: 'The rescue and Red Crescent teams searching the area have not yet made contact with the individuals present in the helicopter due to rain and heavy fog. The rescue teams have not yet reached the crash site.'
“Three helicopters were carrying government members and provincial officials. One of them had Minister of Roads and Urban Development Bazerpash and other officials on board, while another had Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian and his companions.”
“Both helicopters carrying Mehrabian and Bazerpash landed safely, but the helicopter carrying the President has crashed.”
“The rescue teams say that due to the heavy rain and thick fog in the area, they have not yet been able to locate the helicopter and reach the site.”
“I have not heard anything about this. I heard on the news that contact has been made with Mr. Al-Hashem, the representative of the Supreme Leader in East Azerbaijan, but the reality is that all contact is currently cut off.”
