Iran's National News Agency (IRNA) reported that on May 19, Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber ordered Health Minister Bahram Einollahi and Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri to go to the area where the presidential helicopter is believed to have crashed to supervise search and rescue operations.
Iran's cabinet holds emergency meeting on May 19. Photo: IRNA
Vice President Mansouri later told the semi-official FARS news agency that after the accident, authorities had been able to contact two people who were with the president on the crashed helicopter, including an accompanying official and a member of the flight crew. According to Mr. Mansouri, this raised hopes that the incident was not too serious.
Mr. Mansouri added that three helicopters carrying high-ranking Iranian officials were flying on the same route returning from the inauguration ceremony of the Qiz Qalasi dam in the border area with Azerbaijan on the morning of May 19. However, about half an hour after takeoff, the remaining two helicopters lost contact with the helicopter carrying Mr. Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
“The Ministry of Communications and other security agencies have identified the area of the incident within a 2km radius. Due to weather conditions, access to the area is difficult,” Mr. Mansouri noted.
A commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in East Azerbaijan province said rescuers had received signals from the helicopter and a mobile phone belonging to one of the crew members in the area. However, more than 10 hours after receiving news of the incident, they have yet to find the exact location of the helicopter crash.
Rescuers searched through the night in the area where the helicopter is believed to have crashed, but bad weather and thick fog hampered their efforts. Photo: X
RT cited information published by several Iranian news agencies saying that the governor of East Azarbaijan Province, Malek Rahmati, who was also on the plane, had managed to contact the authorities. The official said he was in great pain and could hear sirens. However, there has been no update on the situation of President Raisi.
Meanwhile, The Atlantic's Arash Azizi, citing a source close to the Iranian president, revealed that Mr. Raisi had died. The source asserted that Tehran was trying to announce the news without causing unrest. Mr. Azizi admitted that he could not verify the information.
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