PM Shehbaz, Zardari pray for safety of Iran’s President Raisi

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Zardari have expressed grave concerns over the report that a helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials was involved in a “crash upon landing” in the mountainous Varzaqan region of the country under poor weather conditions on Sunday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

In a message to the Iranian government and the nation, President Asif Ali Zardari said he was deeply concerned about the news about the helicopter of the Iranian president, foreign minister, and others.

He said that he prayed for the health and safety of President Raisi.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a separate message, said that he heard the sad news about Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. The Prime Minister said that he was anxiously waiting for the good news that everything is fine. PM Shehbaz Sharif said that “our best wishes are with the Iranian president and the nation”.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official said, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident.

The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash", which happened on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest.

"We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reassures Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs. Iranian state media said bad weather was the cause of the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all the resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guard to be put to use in search and rescue operations.

"It is dark and it has started raining, but the search continues. Rescue teams have reached the area ... however, the rain has created mud, making the search difficult," a local reporter told state TV. State TV had earlier stopped all its regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country and, in a corner of the screen, live coverage of rescue teams deployed on foot in the mountainous area in heavy fog.