May 19, 2024 helicopter crash involving Iranian president

Iranian media has confirmed the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. Our live coverage continues here.

A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off, near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, on May 19.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was likely traveling on a Bell 212 helicopter that began operating in the late 1960s, according to CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton.

Leighton told CNN’s Paula Newton that the difficulty in obtaining spare parts could have played a factor in the crash.

The helicopter was first produced in the United States and then in Canada, Leighton, a retired US Air Force colonel, said.

“It was first introduced during the latter period of the Shah’s rule in 1976 in commercial form and it had a life before that in the US military, so the actual start of this particular type of helicopter may have been as early as the late 1960s,” Leighton said.

“So spare parts would have definitely been an issue for the Iranians.”

“In this particular case, I think this confluence of spare parts, because of the sanctions, plus the weather which was very bad over the last few days in this particular part of northwestern Iran. All of that, I think contributed to a series of incidents and a series of decisions that the pilot and possibly even the president himself made when it came to flying this aircraft… And unfortunately for them, the result is this crash.”

Iran’s president and foreign minister are presumed dead after Iranian media agencies reported that “no survivors” were found at the crash site of a helicopter carrying the two men and seven others.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian were among the senior officials on board the downed helicopter.

Drone footage of the wreckage taken by the Red Crescent and carried on state media FARS News Agency showed the crash site on a steep, wooded hillside, with little remaining of the helicopter beyond a blue and white tail.

No official announcement of their deaths has yet been made.

Reuters news agency also cited an unnamed Iranian official as saying all passengers are feared dead.

There are no signs of life from those traveling on the helicopter that crashed in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, said Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, according to Iranian state news IRIB.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is believed dead after Iranian agencies reported that “no survivors” were found at the crash site of a helicopter carrying the leader, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and seven others.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a press conference in New York on September 20, 2023.

“No survivors” were found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian state news agency IRINN and semi-official news agency Mehr News reported.

Some background: A former hardline judiciary chief, Raisi was Iran’s eighth president. The former prosecutor and judge was elected in 2021 following a historically uncompetitive presidential contest.

He oversaw a period of intensified repression of dissent, according to human rights monitors.

Next in the line of succession would be First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, if approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s Supreme Leader serves as the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic, dwarfing the powers of the country’s president.

Unlike his predecessor, the moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, Raisi had fostered a close alliance with Khamenei. Many Iranians believed Raisi was being groomed to one day succeed the ailing 85-year-old Khamenei.

CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi contributed reporting to this post.

Rescuers have reached the crash site of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The agency did not say the condition of those who were on board the helicopter.

At least 73 rescue teams are in the area of the helicopter crash near the village of Tavil in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, according to Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Tasnim reported.

Kolivand said the “the situation is not good,” according to Iranian state news IRNA.

Rescue vehicles are seen after the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaqan, northwestern Iran, on May 19.

The crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been located, Iranian state news agency IRNA and semi-official news outlet ISNA reported on Monday. 

The helicopter crashed in a remote part of the country on Sunday.

As president of Iran, Raisi is the second most powerful individual in the Islamic Republic’s political structure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021, and he has overseen a period of intensified repression of dissent in a nation convulsed by youth-led protests against religious clerical rule.

The crash comes at a fraught moment in the Middle East, with war raging in Gaza and weeks after Iran launched a drone-and-missile attack on Israel in response to a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.

Here’s what to know:

The crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister has been located, Iranian state news agency IRNA and semi-official news outlet ISNA reported on Monday. 

Rescuers are approaching the scene of the accident, ISNA said, citing Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent.

State media did not give the exact location of the site. 

More to follow.

An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel April 14.

The crash of a helicopter carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister comes at an especially fraught moment in the Middle East – and for Iran domestically.

Israel’s war against Hamas and the subsequent humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Gaza over the last seven months has inflamed global opinion and sent tensions soaring across the Middle East. 

It has also brought a decades-long shadow war between Iran and Israel out into the open.

Last month Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel — its first ever direct attack on the country — in response to a deadly apparent Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus that killed a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). 

Israel struck back a week later, according to US officials, hitting targets outside the Iranian city of Isfahan with a much smaller, calibrated response. 

Since then the tit-for-tat direct strikes between the two have stopped. But the proxy war continues with Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah continuing to fight Israel’s forces.

Meanwhile, Iran’s hardline leadership has weathered an explosion of recent popular dissent on the streets at home where years of US-led sanctions have hit hard.

The country was convulsed by youth-led demonstrations against clerical rule and worsening economic conditions following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s notorious morality police.

Iranian authorities have since launched a widening crackdown on dissent in response to the protests.

That crackdown has led to human rights violations, some of which amount to “crimes against humanity,” according to a United Nations report released in March.

And while the protests for now have largely stopped, opposition to clerical leadership remains deeply entrenched among many Iranians, especially the young, who yearn for reform, jobs and a move away from stifling religious rule.

A former hardline judiciary chief with his own brutal human rights record, Raisi was elected president in 2021 in a vote that was heavily engineered by the Islamic Republic’s political elite so that he would run virtually uncontested.

While he is president, his powers are dwarfed by those of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic.  

Search and rescue teams have arrived at the location where a heat source was identified in the mountainous region of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, but have not yet located the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported.

Authorities had believed the site of the heat source could be related to where the helicopter carrying nine people including President Raisi and the country’s foreign minister crashed.

Search efforts continued throughout the night and into daylight on Monday to locate the site of the crash under difficult weather conditions with dense fog and extreme cold.

China said it was deeply concerned over the “hard landing” of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement adds it hopes Raisi and the others aboard are safe and sound.

“We are closely following the situation and will provide all necessary support and assistance for Iran’s rescue efforts,” the ministry said, adding that it hopes Raisi and the others aboard are safe and sound.

Representatives from Iraq, Pakistan, India, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the European Union also offered to provide support to the rescue operations.

Turkey and Russia have said they are sending aircraft to help in search operations.

A Turkish drone helping to search for the location where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed has identified a heat source in the mountains of the country’s East Azerbaijan province, according to Iranian state media and Turkish news agency Anadolu.

The condition of those on board the helicopter is still unknown.

A burning spot has been detected and rescue forces are being sent to that area known as Tavil, the country’s semi-official FARS news agency reported.

The Turkish drone identified the heat source and shares its coordinates with Iranian authorities, Anadolu reported.

In this third-party photo provided by the Islamic Republic News Agency and West Asia News Agency, a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off near the Iran-Azerbaijan border on May 19.

Nine people were on the helicopter that crashed in northwest Iran on Sunday, including three officials, an imam and flight and security team members, Iran’s Tasnim news reported. 

The IRGC-run media outlet, Sepah, reported the nine included: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian; Governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz’s Friday prayer Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem as well as a pilot, copilot, crew chief, head of security and another bodyguard.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation to numerous nations and international organizations for their support during the search and rescue operation after the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other officials crashed Sunday. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sincerely thanks the numerous governments, nations, and international organizations for their expressions of human emotion and solidarity with the government and people of Iran, as well as their offers of help and assistance for the search and rescue operation,” the statement said. 

Among the leaders expressing support were those from Iraq, Pakistan and India. Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the European Union also offered to provide support to the rescue operations in posts on X.

Turkey and Russia have said they are sending aircraft to help in search operations.

Russia plans to send special aircraft and 50 professional mountain rescuers to the site in northern Iran where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed Sunday, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA. 

Two special Russian helicopters will be sent to the crash site from Armenia, according to IRNA, which reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the move.

The helicopter carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and a number of other officials crashed in a northern region of the country Sunday, IRNA reported. Iranian officials said dense fog made the search difficult in the remote, mountainous East Azerbaijan Province, while extreme cold is further complicating rescue efforts.

In a still from a video released by Tasnim News, search and rescue teams continue their search in East Azerbaijan, Iran.

Rescue crews haven’t yet located the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir-Hossein Koulivand, told Iranian state TV IRINN.

Earlier, a military commander said the aircraft’s exact location had been detected through a signal from the helicopter and a mobile phone of a crew member, according to state news agency IRNA.

The crews are still searching around where the signals were detected, Koulivand said. 

Harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made the search for the crash site very difficult. It is now just after 1 a.m. local time in the remote, mountainous province.

Rescue vehicles are seen following the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, on May 19. This third-party photo was provided by Moj News Agency and West Asia News Agency.

It’s now past 11:30 p.m. local time in the remote, mountainous region where the Iranian president’s helicopter crashed this afternoon.

It has been approximately 10 hours since authorities lost contact with President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter in the country’s East Azerbaijan Province, where dense fog hindered search efforts during the day. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency warned that extreme cold would only hinder the search further as night fell.

The overnight low temperature in the nearest city of Tabriz will be in the low 50s on Sunday. It’s difficult to obtain precise weather data from the remote mountains where the crash took place, but temperatures there will dip closer to freezing, according to CNN meteorologists.

Iranian officials say they have located the exact crash site and are sending teams there. Earlier, authorities managed to make contact with two people who had been aboard the aircraft, according to a government spokesperson.

Military crews are heading to the exact location of the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a military commander in the region said, according to state news agency IRNA.

A signal was received from the helicopter and the mobile phone of one of the crew members at the crash site, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander for East Azerbaijan province, where the crash occurred.

“Military forces are heading to the location and hope to have some good news,” the commander said, according to IRNA. 

Iran has requested assistance from Turkey in the search for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s crashed helicopter, the Turkish disaster and emergency management ministry said Sunday.

Iran requested a night vision search and rescue helicopter, the ministry said. 

Turkey is also sending six vehicles and 32 mountaineer search and rescue personnel to Iran, according to the ministry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on X that his government is “following the incident closely, in full contact and coordination with the Iranian authorities.”

“On behalf of my nation, I convey my get well wishes to our neighbor, friend and brother Iranian people and government, and I hope to receive good news from Mr. President and his delegation as soon as possible,” Erdoğan added.

Remember: It’s about 11 p.m. local time in the remote, mountainous East Azerbaijan Province where the president’s helicopter went down. Even in daylight, dense fog in the area had hindered the search effort.

CNN’s Nechirvan Mando and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this post.

A screen grab from an IRIB via Tasnim News video shows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on a helicopter in Iran on May 19.

Hamas issued a statement expressing “great concern” after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other Iranian officials crashed on Sunday.

Details about the crash are still murky, and Hamas expressed “solidarity” toward the president and the “brotherly Iranian people.”

“In this painful incident, we express our full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, its leadership, government, and people, and we ask Allah Almighty to protect and ensure the safety of the Iranian President and his accompanying delegation, and to keep all harm away from the brotherly Iranian people,” the Hamas statement reads.

Some context: Tensions remain acute across the Middle East as Israel wages war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is an Iranian ally.

Meanwhile, a decades-long shadow conflict between Israel and Iran erupted into the open in April, when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel. Tehran said the assault was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria. The exchange has only further inflamed tensions in the Middle East.

Iranian proxy groups — including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon — have also been involved in escalating skirmishes in the region.

Iranian officials have spoken to two people on the same helicopter as President Ebrahim Raisi since it crashed Sunday, Iranian Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri told the country’s semi-official FARS news agency. 

Because officials made contact “several times” with a passenger and member of the flight crew shortly after the crash, “It appears that the incident was not severe,” Mansouri said.

Three helicopters were flying on the same route before two lost contact with Raisi’s helicopter, Mansouri said.

“The Ministry of Communications and other security agencies have identified the incident area within a 2-kilometer radius. Due to weather conditions, access to the area is challenging,” he said. 

Leaders across the Middle East and beyond are expressing their sympathies and concern about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, after their helicopter crashed into the mountainous East Azerbaijan Province on Sunday.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed concern and said he is praying for Raisi in his first comments since the crash, according to state news agency IRNA:

“We hope that Almighty God will return the esteemed President and his companions to the nation. Let everyone pray for the health of this serving group. The Iranian people should not worry; no disruption will occur in the country’s affairs.”

Despite rising tensions between Pakistan and Iran following a series of strikes early this year, Pakistan’s top leaders both sent prayers and best wishes to the entire Iranian nation.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, wrote on X, “My heartfelt prayers & good wishes for the well-being & safety of President Raisi so that he may continue to serve the Iranian nation.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, wrote on X, “Waiting with great anxiety for good news that all is well. Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon.President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation.”

Here’s what other leaders are saying:

Rescue vehicles are seen following the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, on May 19. This third-party photo was provided by Moj News Agency and West Asia News Agency.

The exact site where Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed Sunday has still not been located, military officials involved in the rescue operation said.

“The helicopters of the 6th combat base of Tabriz Air Force arrived in the Varzeqan area according to the order to carry out relief operations,” the Commander of Iran’s 6th Air Force Base said Sunday. “These helicopters, along with the rescue team, were sent to the helicopter accident area of the president’s convoy from the early hours. Unfortunately, the operation failed due to unfavorable weather conditions.”

Officials have said rescuers are facing dense fog and extreme cold as the night grows later in Iran. It’s currently just before 9:30 p.m. local time.

The European Union is activating the Copernicus EMS satellite mapping service in response to the crash, following an “Iranian request for assistance,” European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said in a post on X.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is pictured at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, on June 12.

The Iranian Constitution mandates that in the case of the death of the president, the first vice president shall assume, with the approval of the Supreme Leader, the powers and functions of the president. 

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would assume the role if the current president dies and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves. Officials said earlier that Mokhber was en route to the area where the president’s helicopter went down.

Additionally, the constitution mandates the three heads of the branches of government — the vice president, speaker of the parliament and the head of the judiciary — must arrange for an election to choose a new leader within 50 days of the vice president assuming the role of acting president.

Keep in mind: Iran’s supreme leader serves as the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic, dwarfing the powers of the country’s president.

Unlike his predecessor, the moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, Raisi has fostered a close alliance with Khamenei. Many Iranians believe Raisi is being groomed to be elevated to the supreme leadership.

US President Joe Biden was briefed on the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the White House.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, accompanying Biden aboard Air Force One on Sunday, offered no other details.

A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off near the Iran-Azerbaijan border on May 19. This third-party photo was provided by the Islamic Republic News Agency and West Asia News Agency.

Rescuers have not reached the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and have no update on their status, according to Iran government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi. 

In a statement on X, Jahromi said rescue teams are “experiencing difficult and complicated conditions,” and acknowledged it is “the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president’s helicopter accident, but according to the coordinates of the accident site and the weather conditions, there is ‘no’ new news until now.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said his country is ready to provide support after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed Sunday in a remote, mountainous province near the border between the two countries.

Iranian state news agency Press TV reported Raisi and Aliyev inaugurated a dam project on the border Sunday, prior to the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province. Part of the province’s northern border is shared with Azerbaijan.

“Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran,” Aliyev said in a post on X. “Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, friend, and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan stands ready to offer any assistance needed.”

A screen grab from video released by Mehr News Agency via Telegram shows a rescue team arriving at the site of a helicopter crash in Iran on May 19.

Rescue teams are making all attempts to reach the Iranian president’s helicopter quickly, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.

Weather reports indicate that in the next two hours, the weather is expected to become extremely cold in the crash site area, which could prevent the rescuers from progressing, Tasnim reports.

The Iranian government is asking for patience, prayer, and trust in the rescuers who are attempting to reach the site, government spokesperson Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said in a post on X. 

The Red Crescent, rescue teams, mountaineers and other rescue groups hope to arrive at the location of the possible coordinates of the president’s helicopter in less than half an hour, Tasnim reports. 

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is en route to Tabriz, the area where the president’s helicopter crashed earlier Sunday, the spokesperson Jahromi said. Some other government officials are en route with him. 

Adam Pourahmadi contributed to this report.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi holds a news conference in New York on September 20.

Born in 1960, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attended the seminary in Qom and earned a Ph.D in law from Shahid Motahari University.

He started his career as a prosecutor in the early 1980s, and rose from being prosecutor general of Tehran in 1994 to chief justice of the country by 2019.

His two years as Iran’s chief justice were marked by the intensified repression of dissent and human rights abuses, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Raisi became president of Iran on June 19, 2021, after winning a historically uncompetitive presidential election. Many reform-minded Iranians had refused to take part in an election widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Overall voter turnout was only 48.8% – the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.

The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Raisi in November 2019, citing his participation in the 1988 “death commission” as a prosecutor, and a United Nations report indicating that Iran’s judiciary approved the execution of at least nine children between 2018 and 2019.

He is the first elected Iranian leader to be under U.S. sanctions.

In 2021, he was elected to the presidency in a contest heavily engineered by the Islamic Republic’s political elite so that he would run virtually unchallenged. His inauguration was seen to signal the start of a new, harder-line era that could herald major shifts in the Islamic Republic’s policies at home and abroad. 

Raisi has long opposed engagement with the West, and is a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.

Read more details about Raisi’s life here.

Correction: This post has been updated to remove a reference to former President Hassan Rouhani running in the 2021 election.

In this photo from ShahraraNews, people pray for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran, on May 19.

The official Instagram account of President Ebrahim Raisi and state television urged Iranians Sunday to pray for the president and his entourage after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in the country’s East Azerbaijan Province.

“We call on fellow countrymen to pray for the wellbeing of the President and companions,” a story shared on Raisi’s Instagram said.

Raisi’s condition is currently unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA has reported.

A screen grab from video released by Mehr News Agency via Telegram shows a rescue team arriving at the site of a helicopter crash in Iran on May 19.

The site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed Sunday is very foggy, making it difficult for rescuers to search, according to Iranian Minister of Health Bahram Eynollahi.

“We have set up treatment facilities. We are now in the area and all rescue forces are busy searching,” Eynollahi said on state TV Sunday. “We have deployed all medical facilities, including emergency medicine, surgery and ambulance.”

The Iranian military has been in the area of the crash since it was first reported, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said.

“All the facilities, equipment and capacities of the army, the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the police command are being used to provide relief and search for the helicopter of the president and his companions,” Bagheri said.

The armed forces are also investigating the source of the crash, he said. 

People follow the news about the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in a shop in Tehran, Iran, on May 19.

Twenty rescue teams and drones have been sent to the area where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed on Sunday, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

The pair, along with a group of dignitaries, were aboard the helicopter returning from a ceremony for an opening of a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when the aircraft “crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region on Sunday,” IRNA English reported.

“20 rescue teams and drones have been sent to the area, but due to the impassability of the area, its mountainous and forest conditions, as well as unfavorable weather conditions, especially heavy fog, the search and rescue operation will take time,” IRNA said.

IRNA also reported, citing locals, that the helicopter crashed in the Dizmar Forest area between the villages of Ozi and Pir Davood. Residents said they heard noises from the area, it added.

Iran’s interior minister Ahmad Vahidi said one of the helicopters in a convoy was forced to make a hard landing due to foggy weather conditions.

“Now different rescue groups are moving toward the area, but given that it is foggy and the unsuitable weather and the conditions, it may take some time until they reach where the helicopter is,” said Vahidi during a televised address posted on Telegram by IRNA.

He added that there had been some contact with the passengers on the helicopter, but did not have further details.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan on May 19, in a photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed while visiting a northern region and his condition is currently unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Sunday.

The aircraft, which was also carrying Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, came down in the country’s East Azerbaijan Province and emergency crews have so far been unable to reach it due to foggy conditions, IRNA said. It is unclear what the exact status is of Raisi’s helicopter.

“From the beginning of this incident being reported regarding the President’s helicopter, Red Crescent Relief Forces and auxiliary military and law enforcement forces have started a widespread effort to find this helicopter,” state news agency Tasnim reported.

The helicopter was part of a convoy of three helicopters. Two of those helicopters were carrying ministers and officials who arrived at their destination safely, according to Tasnim.