Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited the dam alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Raisi was heading to the north-eastern city of Tabriz after returning from an Iran-Azerbaijan border area when the incident occurred.
Raisi had visited the Iran-Azerbaijan border, where he opened the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
An Iranian state media said the chopper had suffered a “hard landing” without giving further details even as the Iranian Minister of Interior, Ahmed Vahidi, confirmed the incident saying; “After inaugurating the dam, the president was returning when the helicopter carrying him had a hard landing due to the foggy weather in the area.”
The state TV however said that the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 375 miles northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Already, 16 rescue teams have been despatched to the scene but were reportedly struggling to reach the area owing to bad weather occasioned by heavy rain and winds.
This was as it was gathered that a frantic search for President Raisi was underway as Red Crescent, military personnel and police support units were deployed to the site.
This was as Vahidi said that the rescue operation will take some time as it was being hindered by thick fog and poor visibility.
Vahidi told state TV that; “Efforts are underway, and we hope to reach a resolution soon. It is a complicated area which is making contact difficult. We are waiting for teams to reach the area for more information”.
The condition of the Iranian president is unclear but Tasnim news said there is “hope” after his companions reached out to report the incident.
According to Tasnim News on Telegram; “Some of the president’s companions in this helicopter have managed to contact the center thus, the hope for the end of this incident without loss of life has increased.”
