Iran President & Foreign Minister killed in crash

May 20, 2024 at 8:09 AM

Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian along with others who have been onboard the helicopter have died, multiple Iranian news agencies have confirmed.

Iranian and international media outlets have shared photos of the crash site, showing Raisi’s helicopter in pieces on the side of a mountain.

One of the photos posted on social media by Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem showed the tail of the helicopter upside down in a grassy area. (Al-Jazeera)

Iranian President Raisi and the officials accompanying him are feared dead after the Red Crescent says it has found “no signs of the helicopter’s occupants being alive” at the crash site.

Reuters has also reported that the helicopter was “completely burned” in the crash, citing an Iranian official.

“President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash… unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead,” the official said.

Tehran, IRNA – The president of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has confirmed that rescue and search teams have identified President Ebrahim Raisi’s crashed chopper and are now heading to the site.

Speaking to the national TV reporter on Monday morning, Pir-Hossein Kolivand did not give further detail but said “the condition is not good”.

Earlier, the Red Crescent’s National Emergency Management Headquarters announced that its rescue teams have moved to the 2 identified hot spots identified by a Turkish drone.

“Red Crescent rescue teams are moving towards the possible landing place of the helicopter”, it said after Turkey’s high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle named Akinji detected a hot spot that probably belongs to the place where the helicopter crashed.

A commander of Iran’s Revolution Guards Corps confirmed the detection of the heat source was believed to be the wreckage of the helicopter.

An announcement was also made by field source that the precise geographical coordinates of the helicopter carrying President Raisi were determined by the aerial monitoring of the region.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, rescuers tried round the clock to find the site of a missing helicopter that was carrying the Iranian President and his delegation in northwestern part of the country.

Rescue teams, including armed forces, combed the rocky area and the hilly terrain near the city of Varzaqan in East Azarbaijan province despite foggy and rainy weather.

Earlier, Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said it had dispatched more groups to help locate the crash. “46 rapid response and rescue teams from the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Tehran, Alborz, Ardabil, Zanjan and West Azarbaijan were mobilized to help in the search and rescue operation”.

President Raisi was returning with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several others from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran’s border with the Azerbaijan Republic, when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region on Sunday. (IRNA)