Crashed helicopter found by search teams, state TV reports

The helicopter that crashed has been found by search teams, Iranian state TV reported. There is no update yet on the condition of those onboard.

Iranians have been praying for the president, while expressions of concern come in from around the world

One Tehran citizen, a 29-year-old journalist who only gave her name as Vakili, told teh news agency AFP she “feared” the worst and said it recalled previous tense moments in recent years.

“I hope they are okay and that they are found,” she said.

“It’s a strange feeling, like we felt before with Haj Qasem Soleimani,” she said, referring to revered Revolutionary Guards commander who was killed in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.

“I am deeply saddened,” said another resident of the capital, a private sector employee named Hadi. “We hope that he [Raisi] and his companions are found in good health.”

• The helicopter that crashed has been found by search teams, Iranian state TV reported. There is no update yet on the condition of those onboard. However, Iran’s Red Crescent humanitarian movement has denied the state TV report. The location of the helicopter is still unknown.
• The incident, which involved one helicopter in a convoy of three, was described by Iranian state television as an accident.
• An unnamed Iranian official told Reuters that the lives of the president and his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were “at risk” after a “crash” as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog.
• An unnamed Iranian official told state media that contact had been made on several occasions with a passenger and a crew member, but there have been no further updates.
• Three rescue workers searching for the crashed helicopter were reported missing by the Red Crescent but were later accounted for. A spokesperson said the search and rescue operation will slow down as the weather is expected to get “severely cold” soon with more rain forecast.
• Raisi was travelling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV described the area of the helicopter incident as being near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan. The president had been in Azerbaijan earlier on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with the country’s president Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations have built on the Aras River.
• Iran’s army chief of staff said all army resources will be used for the search and rescue operations, state TV reported. Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri has also ordered guards to take part in the search efforts, it said.
• Iraq has instructed its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies to offer help to neighbouring Iran and assist in the search. Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also offered support.