Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other Iranian officials, Monday (20/5/2024), were pronounced dead in a helicopter crash in a mountainous region amid snowstorm weather in East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran.
"President Raisi, the Foreign Minister and all the passengers on board the helicopter died in the crash," a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters news agency.
Iranian media, Mehr, confirmed the news. In his report, Mehr said: "All passengers on board the helicopter carrying the President and Foreign Minister of Iran died in martyrdom."
The Iranian government has not given a proclamation or affirmed the fresh insight about the passings of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian.
Iranian State Television reported, based on photos from the crash site, that the Iranian President's helicopter was thought to have crashed into a mountain peak. There has been no official statement regarding the cause of the accident. The Iranian news agency, IRNA, revealed that Raisi flew aboard a Bell 212 helicopter made in the United States.
IRNA reported that apart from carrying Raisi (63) and Amir-Abdollahian (60), the ill-fated helicopter also carried the Governor of East Azerbaijan, several other officials, and bodyguards.
Rescue teams on Monday (20/5/2024) managed to reach the accident site. "President Raisi's helicopter was completely burnt in the crash... unfortunately, all on board are feared dead," an official told Reuters news agency.
Rescue teams had to battle through a snowstorm and difficult terrain throughout the night and early morning to reach the crash site of the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan Province.
"We can see the (helicopter) wreckage and the situation doesn't seem good," Pirhossein Kolivand, head of Iran's Red Crescent, told state television. "With the discovery of the crash site, it appears that there are no signs of life on the helicopter passengers."
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