Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is presumed dead after he’s involved in helicopter crash.
Rescuers on Monday found a helicopter carrying him and other officials that had crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran the day before.
What Happened?
Rescuers were last night struggling to locate the Iranian president after the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in bad weather.
The Iran President and some officials had been missing at that point by over 12 hours.
Statement From Official
An Iranian official said after search teams located the wreckage that ‘no sign of life’ was detected and things did not look good. Drone footage was seen from the site of the crash.
‘President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash … unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead,’ the official added.
The Crash Site
Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday.
‘Red Crescent search and rescue teams have reached the crash site of the helicopter carrying the president,’ the Iranian Red Crescent said in a statement, which added the crash was found in the village of Tavil.
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they ‘suspected to be wreckage of helicopter.’
How the Search Went
Russia sent a 50-man specialist mountain rescue unit to assist the search. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed it in a Telegram post. Approximately 73 teams, plus detector dogs, are involved, per Iran’s Red Crescent.
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Number of Casualties
An Iranian official said the lives of president Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, among others, were ‘at risk’.
The men were on board one of three helicopters travelling in convoy over remote mountainous terrain cloaked in heavy fog when the aircraft went down.
Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian; Governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz’s Friday prayer Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem as well as a pilot, copilot, crew chief, head of security and another bodyguard, according to Iranian media.
