A helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raeisi and a delegation including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati made what the country’s media is describing as an emergency landing in the city of Jolfa, located in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan. The incident occurred as the helicopter encountered difficulties, attributed to adverse weather conditions, necessitating what has been described as a “hard landing” in Jolfa, a city adjacent to the border with Azerbaijan.
Reports indicate that rescue efforts by the Iranian Red Crescent Society were impeded by the challenging weather conditions prevailing at the time of the incident. To augment the rescue operations, drone units have been deployed to assist in the emergency response.
Earlier in the day, President Raeisi had been in Azerbaijan to participate in the inauguration ceremony of a dam on the Aras River, alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The unexpected turn of events underscores the unpredictability of aerial travel, particularly in regions prone to inclement weather, and highlights the importance of swift and coordinated emergency responses in such situations.
Agencies
