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Post by Admin on May 19, 2024 18:50:32 GMT
Helicopter Carrying President Raisi Is Missing After ‘Difficult Landing’ | WSJ News 10,032 views May 20, 2024 #wsj #iran #ebrahimraisi The status of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi remained unclear after the helicopter carrying him made a “difficult landing” in northwestern Iran on Sunday. Photo: Vahid Salemi/Associated Press
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Post by Admin on May 19, 2024 19:14:42 GMT
Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word “crash,” but others referred to either a “hard landing” or an “incident.” Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisi’s condition in the hours afterward. However, hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. State TV later aired images of the faithful praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. State television’s main channel aired the prayers nonstop. “The esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments aired on state TV. “Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.” IRNA called the area a “forest” and the region is known to be mountainous as well. State TV aired images of SUVs racing through a wooded area and said they were being hampered by poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind. ![](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/601606d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2932x1955+0+0/resize/800x533!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Ff8%2F02%2Fbc0cf8d261380c5551e2e89c9cf1%2Fbd3364af1edd48a4bd072c360cb7fb8f) In this photo provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi takes off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan after President Raisi and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA via AP)
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Post by Admin on May 20, 2024 0:05:29 GMT
[TEHRAN Kyodo] On the 20th, a source related to the helicopter accident in which Iranian President Raisi (63) was aboard revealed to Kyodo News that authorities have concluded that the helicopter crashed. Rescue authorities continued their search at the scene in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. There is information that they have been able to contact the passengers, but Raishi's safety is unknown. According to state-run media, rescue efforts have been difficult due to poor weather conditions, including heavy fog and heavy rain, as the site is located in a steep mountain. Foreign Minister Abdullahian was also on board.
[Photo] Iranian President says he doesn't want tensions to escalate; telephone talk with Russia's Putin in April
Iran is a major Shiite power in the Middle East and is in conflict with the United States and Israel. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the situation in the region, including the Palestinian autonomous region of Gaza, may become even more chaotic.
Interior Minister Vahidi explained that the helicopter crashed into the ground due to fog. Regarding the search, he said, "Visibility is very limited due to heavy rain." The military and Revolutionary Guards are also participating in the search.
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Post by Admin on May 20, 2024 4:27:22 GMT
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Post by Admin on May 20, 2024 5:54:42 GMT
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