Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on board the helicopter that suffered a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, says Iranian state media

  • Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on board the helicopter that suffered a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, says Iranian state media.Adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog, are hampering rescue efforts and the helicopter is still missing.Iran’s Fars News Agency calls on Iranians to pray for President Raisi.
  •  helicopter crashed close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jofa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.

    The Iranian Red Crescent says they have deployed 40 separate teams to the region… as of now the teams arrived to the area, however not to the specific spot where the helicopter just crashed. The reason for that they say, is the harsh weather conditions.

  • Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reports that eight ambulances are also involved, as well as drones.

    However, according to Fouad Izadi, a professor of world studies at the University of Tehran, the teams have been unable to contact those on the helicopter.

    “That could be because the accident is very bad, or it could be because the area is not covered by the network. We have to wait and see,” Izadi said.

Iranian political analyst Mohammad Marandi pointed out that Raisi had been in the border region after meeting Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday to inaugurate a dam.

“The president was also planning to visit a couple of provinces in the north; he does travel a lot in the country,” Marandi told Al Jazeera. “We have 30 provinces and every year he’s promised to travel to each province at least once, so he’s constantly on the move.”

“It does seem that there was very bad weather; it is very foggy. The footage from the rescue team does show that it’s very difficult to see there. It could be that the helicopter pilot didn’t want to risk it, and he swiftly brought down the helicopter; it could be something else.”

People in the Iranian city of Mashhad have gathered to pray for President Ebrahim Raisi as the country waits with bated breath to see whether he and the ministers travelling with him will be found.

Aljazeera