Emergency services are struggling to find a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and several other officials Sunday after it reportedly crashed amid foggy weather, according to The New York Times, citing Iranian state media and Iran’s mission to the United Nations.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on June 3, 2022 In Tehran, Iran.
Iranian news outlets on Sunday reported Raisi was in a helicopter that suffered a "hard landing" near the border of Azerbaijan, about 375 miles from the capital city of Tehran, according to the Associated Press.
Search and rescue officials were struggling to find the helicopter in the fog as of 10:15 a.m. ET (5:45 p.m. local time in Iran), five hours after the crash occurred, The New York Times reported.
There was no immediate information available on the president’s condition or the cause of the crash, though Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that some of the people aboard the helicopter were able to "communicate with Central Headquarters, raising hopes that the incident could have ended without casualties.”
The helicopter was one of three in a convoy, the other two of which arrived at their destination safely according to Tasnim, and those onboard the missing vehicle include Raisi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Governor of East Azerbaijan Malik Rahmati, CNN reported.
Iran's military air fleet largely dates back to the 1970s, according to the AP, and international sanctions make it hard to obtain parts for maintenance.
This is a developing story and will be updated.