A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in a “hard landing” incident on Sunday following his visit to the border with neighboring Azerbaijan, Iranian media reported.
Search operations are underway for the helicopter following the incident that occurred in the Dizmar forest in northwest Iran.
Raisi was returning from the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also in the helicopter, along with other officials. Rescue teams were dispatched to the site, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Earlier today presidents #Raisi and #Aliyev met on the 🇮🇷/🇦🇿 border in an attempt to diffuse tensions between their countries.
On the way back Raisi’s helicopter was forced to make a crash landing. His current status is still unknown. pic.twitter.com/CoxPy5Cci3
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) May 19, 2024
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that there were three helicopters in the convoy, two of which landed safely.
Earlier on Sunday, Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam along the two countries’ border.
The agency reported that there was fog in the area. Further details were not immediately available.
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that Raisi’s condition is not presently known, several outlets reported at 9:45 am ET.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
