Iranian officials are continuing an extensive search operations as the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and other officials crashed in the northern mountainous region of the country on May 19, 2024.
The accident occurred in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province when Raisi was returning from a visit to border area with Azerbaijan, where he had travelled to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s President Ilham Aliyev.
There were three helicopters were in the Iranian president’s convoy, and the two others made it back safely.
Iranian state media initially called it a “hard landing” but later confirmed the crash.
“The esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said. “Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.”
It has been approximately 10 hours since authorities lost contact with President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter and rescue crews are yet to find crash site of Iranian president’s helicopter, official said.
Who was aboard the helicopter?
Traveling with President Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed concern over the situation and urged the country to pray for Raisi and others who were traveling with him. “We hope that God returns the honourable president and his companions to the arms of the nation,” he said. He also urged Iranians not to worry and stressed that there would be “no disruption” in governance.
Bad weather conditions hamper search efforts
Mountainous terrain and poor weather conditions have made it difficult for search teams to reach the site. Thick fog surrounded ambulances and rescue workers as they searched for the site of the crash in Iran, state media videos showed.
“Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter,” according to Iranian officials.
Iran has launched extensive search and rescue efforts including around 40 search and rescue teams, medical crews and drones have also been deployed. Iran has also deployed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and army forces to the search area. Red Crescent team and local people are also involved in search.
“We are experiencing difficult and complicated conditions. It is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president’s helicopter accident,” Ali Bahadori Jahromi said. “However, according to the coordinates of the accident site and the weather conditions, there is no new news until now.”
International support arrives
Turkey announced that it had sent an unmanned arial vehicle and a helicopter with night vision capabilities to join the search-and-rescue efforts.
“A night vision search and rescue helicopter, 32 personnel and six vehicles have been sent to the country”, the country’s disaster management agency AFAD said. A further 15 rescuers have been placed on alert in case they are needed, it added.
The European Union is activating the Copernicus emergency satellite mapping service in response to the crash, following an “Iranian request for assistance,” European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said in a post on X.
Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Armenia and Russia have offered Iran any help needed in search operations.
World leaders offer sympathy and support to Iran
Turkey is among the first countries to offer search and rescue support to Iran. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on X that his government is following the incident closely, in full contact and coordination with the Iranian authorities. “On behalf of my nation, I convey my get well wishes to our neighbor, friend and brother Iranian people and government, and I hope to receive good news from Mr. President and his delegation as soon as possible,” Erdogan added.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who met Raisi just before the accident at the dam inauguration site, said his country is ready to provide any support required by Iran. “Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran,” Aliyev said in a post on X. “Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, friend, and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan stands ready to offer any assistance needed.”
Saudi Arabia expressed “great concern” over the helicopter crash and offered to help with the response. “We affirm that the Kingdom stands by the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult circumstances and its readiness to provide any assistance that the Iranian agencies need,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.
Iran’s neighboring Pakistan was also quick to offer sympathy and support to Iran. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “heartfelt prayers” and best wishes for the well-being and safety of President Raisi and Iranian nation.
A spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister said the country’s interior ministry has directed resources from the Iraqi Red Crescent and other authorities to be available to help in the search.
United States President Joe Biden was briefed on the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the White House.