UPDATES:
- 17:23 GMT
European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenar?i?, announced that, following a request from Iran, the EU is activating its Copernicus EMS rapid response satellite mapping service.
- 17:07 GMT
West Jerusalem had nothing to do with the crash of the Iranian president’s helicopter, Israeli Channel 13 reports, citing officials.
- 16:08 GMT
US President Biden is rushing to the White House for an emergency meeting following Raisi’s helicopter incident, an administration official told Reuters.
- 15:50 GMT
IRIB News on Telegram is reporting that the search teams are approaching the accident site.
- 15:34 GMT
In the event of the death of Raisi, the person expected to replace him in office, at least temporarily, is First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.
- 15:24 GMT
The head of Iran’s Red Crescent reported that one of the search and rescue teams had reached the site where the Iranian president’s helicopter had made a hard landing.
- 15:01 GMT
Raisi had been in the border region after joining Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday to inaugurate a dam, Iranian political analyst Mohammad Marandi told Al Jazeera.
Marandi mentioned that Raisi had also planned to visit a few northern provinces, emphasizing that he travels extensively within the country. Iran has 30 provinces and Raisi has pledged to visit each one at least once a year, so he is constantly on the move.
Marandi also remarked that there seemed to have been very bad weather with heavy fog. Footage from the rescue team showed extremely poor visibility. He suggested that the helicopter pilot might have decided not to take any risks and quickly landed the helicopter, although there could have been another reason as well.
- 14:56 GMT
Rescue teams have reportedly managed to reach the area and began a search operation that is currently ongoing.
- Foggy weather and the impassibility of the area has made the search operations difficult, IRNA writes. The Iranian news agency, citing the head of the Red Crescent in the country, said the number of rescue teams sent to the area was increased from 20 to 40 teams.
TEHRAN (Agencies): A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian crashed in the northern Iranian region of East Azerbaijan, according to state-run media reports on Sunday. The incident occurred near the Iranian border city of Jolfa, approximately 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran.
Earlier on Sunday, President Raisi had arrived in the province to join his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for the commissioning ceremony of the Khudaferin hydroelectric complex and the opening of the Giz Galasy hydroelectric complex, both located on the Araz River.
The helicopter, which was part of a convoy of three, encountered a “hard landing”. The other two helicopters, carrying various ministers and officials, reached their destination safely. Rescue teams are currently trying to reach the crash site, but their efforts have been hampered by heavy fog and challenging terrain.
Earlier it was reported that despite the crash, the president is reported to be fine and is now traveling by car as part of a motorcade to Tabriz, the provincial capital. Some of the officials who were with the president at the time of the incident were able to contact a “center,” suggesting that the incident did not result in serious injuries. The situation is still developing, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.