The Middle-East is heating up, once again

On Sunday May 19th around 14:00 CEST I got the first notification.

The helicopter carrying Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, had crashed. It was travelling towards Western Azerbaijan.

IRNA, the Iranian state-owned news agency reported that a search was underway. A few hours after the news broke of the crash, a spokesperson for the Red Crescent in Iran announced that now 20 to 40 rescue teams would be dispatched to the area for search and rescue. The President, along with his security detail and accompanying ministers, had yet to be found.

The helicopter carrying the president, which was headed to this city to inspect improvements to the Tabriz refinery, had an accident in the forest area of ​​Dizmar between the villages of Uzi and Pir Dawood.

Around 19:00 Tehran time, the Minister of Health confirmed that the helicopter had yet to be located.

The updates

As the death of Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi is confirmed, this blog is now closed. A more comprehensive breakdown will be available in the next Maric’s Weekly.

All below are translated from Persian.

[Tehran time]

[8:20]

An extraordinary meeting of the government board was held under the chairmanship of Mokhbar

“Following the death of Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi and his companions, an extraordinary meeting of the government board was held under the chairmanship of the first vice president, Mohammad Mokhbar.”

[8:00]

The spirit of the popular and revolutionary president of Iran joined the supreme kingdom

“Together with all his companions, Ebrahim Raisi, reached the lofty position of martyrdom at the same time as the night of the birth of Imam Rauf Ali Ibn Musa al-Reza.

Local sources who are currently present at the scene of the helicopter carrying the president confirmed the martyrdom of the president and his companions”

[5:44]

The location of the president's helicopter was found

The rescue forces are approaching the accident site.

[1:11]

Sending two Russian advanced airplanes and special helicopters to Tabriz

The special assistant of the Russian president contacted the first vice president while announcing the extraordinary meeting of Putin with the presence of high Russian government officials and the Iranian ambassador, and said: “In another hour, two advanced aircraft with special helicopters along with 50 professional mountain rescuers will be sent to Tabriz.”

[0:00]

The search operation to find the helicopter of the president with military formation continues

The commander of the Ashura Corps of East Azerbaijan province announced that the armed forces and jihadi groups are participating in the search operation for the helicopter carrying the president and his accompanying delegation, and said that the monitoring of the area continues in the form of a military formation.

[22:48]

Yaqub Soleimani, Secretary General of the Red Crescent Society, said:

“15 quick response operational teams are present in the accident area. 5 operational teams of the Red Crescent have approached the coordinates announced by the Aerospace Organization. The National Red Crescent Emergency Management Headquarters has been formed and is fully prepared. We had reports of calls from people in the president's helicopter, which we are investigating.”

[21:29]

The location of the president's helicopter accident was determined

“According to the latest reports of an IRNA reporter, the exact location of the President's helicopter accident has been announced in an area between Ardeshir and Brazin in Varzeghan.

The area is rocky, foggy and rainy, and these conditions have made it very difficult to provide relief. About 240 Red Crescent rescuers have been sent to the region and are stationed in Uzi village. Drone teams, rescue teams and Red Crescent radio communication centre are present in the area.”

[21:15]

It was not difficult to make contact with the two companions of the president in the helicopter/incident, the Executive Vice President said,

“We have communicated with two of the President's companions on several occasions and it seems that it was not a serious incident.”

[20:40]

Leader of the Revolution: The people of Iran should not worry

“The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution tonight said:

We hope that the Almighty God will He return the honourable President and his companions to the arms of the nation. Everyone should pray for the health of this group of servants. If the people of Iran do not worry, there will be no disruption in the work of the country”

[20:29]

The possible location of the accident was identified. Red Crescent National Emergency Management Headquarters wrote in its announcement:

“230 quick and specialized rescuers of Red Crescent Mountain are present at the scene of the accident since the early hours and are on the way to reach the possible spot of the accident. Initial reports indicate that the possible location of the accident has been identified and rescuers are moving in this direction. Currently, in order to strengthen the rescue teams and use all facilities, 15 teams of the Red Crescent are searching the area”

[20:08]

So far, "nothing" is new news, the speaker and secretary of the government board wrote:

“We are experiencing difficult and complicated conditions; 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. In these moments, patience, prayer and trust in relief groups are the way forward.”

[19:15]

There is still no reliable information about the location of the president's helicopter

“According to the information of the IRNA reporter, until this moment there is no reliable information about the place of the fall, new rescue groups and some climbers have joined the rescue team. The weather is slowly getting dark and the rain has started, but the search continues.

The rescue teams have reached the place where the president's helicopter was thought to have had an accident, but a rainstorm has caused mud and difficult passage for cars and people. The information shows that the search area is in the heights and it is not possible to arrive by car, and the rescuers have to move on foot, therefore the rescue operation has faced difficulties”

[18:53]

The Minister of Health said in an interview:

“We are in Mes Songun area, all the rescue forces are busy searching and the area is very foggy, and because of this, the possibility of searching has become very difficult. All medical facilities, ambulance bus, surgeons and doctors are stationed at the site to carry out medical procedures after the helicopter is found.”

[18:30]

[18:00]

The head of the Red Crescent announced the increase of the rescue teams sent to the region from 20 to 40 teams and said:

“We are monitoring the region, according to the signs that we have in the region, the weather conditions are very unfavourable and difficult to pass, but the search and rescue operations are being carried out with all our efforts. We used a drone, but due to the weather conditions, it is not possible to search by air.”

[17:37]

IRNA reporter's field report of the search and rescue operation of the helicopter carrying the president:

“According to the reports given by the residents of the villages around the accident site, the helicopter carrying the president and his companions has had an accident in the forest area of ​​Dizmar between the villages of Uzi and Pir Dawood. Residents of this area, which is located in the north of Varzeghan in East Azarbaijan province, told IRNA reporter that voices were heard in this area an hour ago.”

“More than 20 rescue and rescue teams with full equipment, including drones and search dogs, have been sent to the area, and along with them, groups of rangers and special forces of the armed forces are also present in the area to help in the search operation.
Due to the impassability of the area as well as adverse weather conditions, especially thick fog in the area, search and rescue operations like these take a long time.”

The cause of the crash is currently unknown.

The live blog is available at the IRNA site here.

I will add to this post on our site as more updates become available;

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