40 rapid response teams are conducting search operations in the area where the presidential helicopter crashed.
Iran is using all resources, including the armed forces, to search for the country’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who crashed in a helicopter, Reuters reports.
Iran’s Chief of Staff Mohammad Baqeri ordered the armed forces, including the IRGC, army and law enforcement agencies, to deploy “all resources, equipment and capabilities for search and rescue operations in relation to crash of the helicopter of President Raisi and its passengers.”
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said that 40 rapid response teams are conducting search operations in the area where the helicopter crashed.
He added that the weather conditions were very unfavorable and the terrain was difficult to navigate.
An Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the lives of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were “in danger following the helicopter crash.”
“We are still hopeful, but the information coming from the disaster area is very worrying,” he said.
Iranian state media said the crash was caused by bad weather that complicated rescue efforts.
“It is now dark and raining, but the search continues. Rescue teams have reached the area… but the rain has created mud, which has made the search difficult,” a local reporter told state television.
State television halted all its regular programming to show prayers for Raisi taking place across the country, with a live broadcast of the rescue operation in the corner of the screen.
Emergency helicopters are stationed #Varzaqan County, #IranEast #Azerbaijan province, following an accident involving the President #Raisithe helicopter. Due to the weather in the area, two emergency ambulance buses from Tabriz were sent to the scene. pic.twitter.com/nWy03UsHjF
— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) May 19, 2024
Reuters said the disaster occurred against the backdrop of growing divisions within Iran over a series of political, social and economic crises. Iran’s leaders have faced international pressure over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program and deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
We remind you that a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday when he was returning from Azerbaijan. It happened near the city of Jolfa, about 600 km northwest of Iran’s capital Tehran.
Source: korrespondent
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