Iranians increasingly worried: Search underway for crash site of Iranian President Raisi, information is not encouraging

(Patria) - The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs crashed while flying over a mountainous area in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, an anonymous Iranian official told Reuters.

The accident occurred as the helicopter was flying over a mountainous area in dense fog on its return from the opening ceremony of a dam on the border of Azerbaijan and Iran. Raisi was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor of East Azerbaijan Malik Rehmati, and the Friday prayer leader of Tabriz, Ayatollah Al-Hashem, at the time of the accident.

A Reuters source said that the lives of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian are at risk.

"We are still hopeful, but the information we are receiving from the crash site is very worrying," the source said.

The Iranian Fars agency called on Iranians to pray for President Raisi.

Search and rescue attempts related to the helicopter in the convoy of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi could not be carried out from the air due to bad weather, stated the president of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Kulivand, reports Anadolu.

He explained that due to unfavorable weather conditions and dense fog in the region, it is currently not possible for Red Crescent rescue helicopters to fly, but teams are searching the area. He told state television that 40 rapid response teams have been dispatched to the area to assist in the search and rescue operation.

"These are teams from the cities of Tehran, Alborz, Ardabil, Zanjan, and East and West Azerbaijan, including 200 emergency and specialized rescuers," he said.

In addition, 15 Red Crescent ANST (sniffer dogs) teams, along with two Red Crescent drones, have been deployed to search for traces of the helicopter carrying the president and his team.