Contact Made with Passenger, Crew of Helicopter Carrying President: Iran’s VP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As the rescue operation continues to locate the site of an incident involving a helicopter carrying the Iranian president and some other officials, a senior official said contact has been made with two of those on board the copter.
The helicopter made a hard landing as the president was returning from the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri noted that the president, along with his entourage, was on his way to the city of Tabriz to launch an oil project there when the incident happened.
Three helicopters were flying them to Tabriz when the communication with the one carrying the president was cut off about half an hour into the flight, he said.
Mansouri added that, fortunately, a passenger and a crew member of the flight have made contact with officials several times, which means the severity of the incident was not that much.
He also noted that the location of the incident has been identified within a two kilometer radius.
The rescue operation is progressing slowly due to the weather conditions and the terrain, he went on to say.