According to reports, Iranian President Raisi was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev at the border between the two countries, where the dam’s opening ceremony took place. Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev opened a new hydroelectric power station “Giz Galasi” on the Araz River.
A delegation of the Iranian government led by the vice president went to the site of the hard landing of Raisi’s helicopter, a spokesman for the Iranian Cabinet said.
Earlier on Sunday, a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in the north-west of the country, Iranian state television channel Press TV reported.
Mehr news agency has published footage taken “an hour before the hard landing.”
“The president and his companions were returning in several helicopters. One of the helicopters made a hard landing due to weather conditions,” Vahidi said.
He added that the situation was “under control.” Rescue teams are expected to arrive at the helicopter landing site, but there is no contact with people accompanying the president, the minister said.
“We have contacted the president’s companions, but since the terrain is difficult, there is virtually no communication. We are waiting for rescue teams to reach the crash site and helicopter landing to notify us directly of the situation,” Vahidi was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
According to the local media, rescuers were trying to reach an area in northwestern Iran where the helicopter is believed to make a hard landing. Bad weather conditions were preventing rescuers from reaching the site in the quickest time possible.
A total of 16 rescue squads, including drones and dogs, were reportedly involved in the search efforts. Eight ambulances rushed to the crash site, Tasnim said.
The head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, was on board the helicopter that was involved in an accident, along with the country’s president, Tasnim reported.
Fars news agency reported that some people managed to contact the imam of Tabriz’s main mosque, Ayatollah Al-Hashem, who was also on board of the helicopter, immediately after the incident, but at the moment all telephone numbers are unavailable.
It is noted that the Iranian President’s motorcade included a total of three helicopters, with two of them, carrying Ministers of Energy and of Roads, reaching their destination safely.