A helicopter carrying the country’s top officials, including President Ibrahim Raisi, has crashed.

On Sunday, President Raisi went to attend the opening ceremony of a reservoir in the border area of Azerbaijan. While returning from there, the helicopter met with an accident while landing in Varjakan area. No casualties or damage were immediately known.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian and some local officials were in that helicopter with the President of Iran. They were returning from inaugurating the East Azerbaijan Reservoir Project.

The helicopter is believed to have crashed in a densely forested and mountainous area of East Azerbaijan province. As the place is a remote area, it may take several hours for rescuers to reach there.

Raisi is still missing and preparations are underway to find him.

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said various rescue teams were still searching for the helicopter.

In an interview with Iran’s state television, Vahidi said it would take time to get to the crash site due to bad weather and fog.

He said the situation is under control and rescue teams are doing their work. We hope to complete it as soon as possible.

Iran uses various types of helicopters. However, the country cannot buy new helicopters or spare parts due to decades of embargo by Western countries. Many of the country’s military helicopters date back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.