By Emmanuel Nduka
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in “an accident” amid poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway.
There is currently no news yet on his condition.
“An accident happened to the helicopter carrying the president” in the Jofa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan, state television said.
Late Sunday, rescue team were headed to the area to locate him and other officials, state media in the Islamic republic reported, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian may also have been aboard the aircraft.
“The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site,” state TV said in an on-screen news alert.
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The accident happened in the mountainous forest area of Dizmar near the town of Varzaghan, according to the official IRNA news agency.
63-year-old Raisi was visiting the province Sunday where he inaugurated a dam project together with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries.
His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had “reached their destination safely,” according to Tasnim news agency.
IRNA said the foreign minister and local officials were travelling in the same helicopter as Raisi.
The reformist Shargh daily also reported that “the helicopter carrying the president crashed” while two other helicopters landed safely.
Later, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said one of the helicopters “made a hard landing due to bad weather conditions”.
Vahidi added that it was “difficult to establish communication” with the aircraft.
