Helicopter carrying Iran's hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region

[jmbar2]

Last edited Sun May 19, 2024, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating.

Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV said the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word “crash” to describe the incident, but he acknowledged to an Iranian newspaper that he had yet to reach the site himself.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/iran-helicopter-raisi-b483ba75e4339cfb0fe00c7349d023b8

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other sources on Twitter saying this may be worse than the Iranian press are suggesting.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Yeah

Bloomberg had this (in part) - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-19/air-fleet-of-iran-s-raisi-involved-in-incident-iranian-state-tv?srnd=politics-vp

The incident reportedly occurred as a result of dense fog in the region, which is making conditions difficult for rescue teams. The report didn’t immediately provide an update on the condition of Raisi or his entourage.

Raisi’s air fleet consisted of three helicopters with high-ranking officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

[PCIntern]

2. 5...4...3...2...1...Israel is to blame

I’m waiting for this…

[getagrip_already]

3. Who they blame or who is to blame?

Not necessarily the same party.

Sometimes an accident is just that. Sometimes it has help.

[PCIntern]

4. That's correct...

There’s also reflexive knee-jerking. This may be an example of that. We shall see.

[COL Mustard]

6. I also wondered how long

Before someone blames Israel.

[JoseBalow]

13. Blame?

I was thinking "credit"

[PCIntern]

17. Yeah..well those who hate Israel

(But love Jews, right?? ) will talk about destabilizing the area.

[JoseBalow]

18. Oh, right. Because Iran helps keep the region stable

[PCIntern]

24. Logic is irrelevant in the ME

[LeftInTX]

27. So true!!!!!!!

[Xolodno]

30. Quit projecting.

Seriously bad weather that makes Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash look like a picnic is obvious to everyone. Only exception is the quacks and you are giving them credibility with your statement.

As it is, plenty of helicopter crashes happen in good weather.

[PCIntern]

33. You quit...

It’s already being mentioned. I didn’t say that was the cause, I said that they will be blamed for it because they’re blamed for everything.

[Behind the Aegis]

32. Already happening.

Hell, not even 24 hours, and someone here is "wondering" if Mossad was involved. Of course, you are accused of "projecting" by someone mourning the loss of this asshole and ignoring the FACT that anytime something happens in the ME or the world for that matter, Israel MUST be behind it.

COVID!
COVID VACCINE!
OCTOBER 7th!
Hell, Israel is even blamed for the fucking protests on US college campuses!

[LeftInTX]

34. I already saw it!

[Kid Berwyn]

5. So, the Ayatollah couldn't wait for an election?

Seems harsh, but got to ask.

[Mosby]

7. He's in a bad spot, assuming any of them are alive.

The search for the president of Iran is developing from an action movie to a horror movie. Not only did he crash in a heavily forested mountain area with thick fog, he also crashed next to a place called "wolf village" (known for its wolves) and a storm is coming. Pretty epic.

https://x.com/VerminusM/status/1792242589782999278

Don't know why, but the tweets I copy don't show up.

[turbinetree]

8. Fog turned out the lights..............

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. You have to make sure "twitter.com" is in the URL, not "x.com"

Link to tweet

[Mosby]

10. How long will it be that way?

Any idea why?

Thanks.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. How long will Musk allow 'twitter.com' to exist? No idea.

How long before DU alters its software to use x.com as a special case instead? Again, no idea, but I can see why they don't want the ridiculous "x.com" to become popular. But I don't think DU has the ability to make Musk keep twitter.com active.

See eg https://www.democraticunderground.com/125625943

[Mosby]

12. Thanks. nt

[DFW]

14. As usual, not exactly informative

A "hard landing" could mean he lost anything from his lunch to his life.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. They still haven't found the helicopter; it's obviously pretty serious

Radio contact must be down too - or they have that, but are unwilling to report what's happened (ie deaths of the president or foreign minister).

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. two other helicopters in the "convoy" landed OK

President Raisi was travelling with the Iranian foreign minister in a convoy of three helicopters over the area - two of the helicopters are reported to have landed safely.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-69035051?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=664a13c0e5702a5b8f6bc0bb%26Rescuers%20yet%20to%20make%20contact%20with%20helicopter%20convoy%262024-05-19T14%3A59%3A20.247Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:a7a0b793-e6dd-4b98-a565-04b4e0456887&pinned_post_asset_id=664a13c0e5702a5b8f6bc0bb&pinned_post_type=share

You'd think that would have meant they could pinpoint the spot well. Or maybe conditions were so bad they kept a large distance apart to avoid hitting each other.

[orangecrush]

19. Karma

https://x.com/WinnieSchola/status/1792250886145663280

[LeftInTX]

20. Their Supreme Leader was not onboard.

According to Ayatollah Khamenei, nothing will change.

[Tarc]

21. News from the scene is trickling in now. Raisi is dead.

[FakeNoose]

22. Wow ...

Will this be on tonight's news? It's kind of a big deal.

My NBC, ABC, and CBS channels are all broadcasting sports now.
After all, it's Sunday.

[brooklynite]

23. You think the story calls for cutting in to regular programming?

Network news is at 6:30.

Add to which, other than the crash, which happened hours ago, there's not a lot to report at this point.

[LeftInTX]

26. They haven't found the helicopter yet. No confirmation.

Silence tends to lean in that direction, but I don't think the US MSM wants to engage in speculation and rumors about Iran.

Sun is gonna rise in Tabriz about 20 minutes from now.

[KewlKat]

25. CNN Live update below...10 mins ago

What we're covering

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in a northern region of the country Sunday, according to state news agency IRNA. After hours of searching, officials say they have still not reached the crash site, despite determining its exact location thanks to signals from the aircraft.

Rescuers are contending with dense fog and extreme cold in the remote, mountainous East Azerbaijan Province. It is now early morning local time.

The country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was among a number of officials also aboard the helicopter, IRNA reports.

Raisi became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021. Previously the country's chief justice, he has overseen a period of intensified repression of dissent, according to human rights monitors.

[FakeNoose]

28. Iran is 8 hours ahead of us (Eastern time zone)

So it's already morning there, they should be finding it soon. Unless it's a really bad fog.
I hope it's not too late.

[pfitz59]

29. First guess, pilot error

Like Kobe Bryant, pilot flying VFR in IFR conditions.

[Xolodno]

31. CNN is saying no signs of survivors.

Al Jazeera hasn't confirmed....yet.

Edit, they just confirmed no signs of survivors as I was typing.