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Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi Crashes, “No Clue Of Any Living Persons”

News On Time Desk 20 May 2024

Iran: Iran’s Red Crescent chief said today that President Ibrahim Raisi’s helicopter has been found but the situation is ‘not good’.

A helicopter, carrying President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials, lost contact approximately 30 minutes after they took off for the Iranian city Tabriz after President Raisi and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam on their shared border crashed.

This sparked immediate concerns and a massive search and rescue operation.

“The helicopter has been found. Now, we are moving toward the helicopter,” said Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand, adding “the situation is not good”, as quoted by news agency AFP.

Iran’s Press TV tweeted, “Rescue teams identify President Ebrahim Raisi’s crashed chopper…No clue of any living persons in President Raeisi’s search following Sunday chopper crash.”

Besides Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, governor of east Azarbaijan province Malek Rahmati and a number of senior other leaders were also on board the helicopter.