Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash, Sky News reported. Iranian state media confirmed that the president had died, as had the country's foreign minister, who was also on board.
Yesterday, Iranian authorities announced a "hard landing" of a helicopter carrying the president of Iran. The machine was flying in thick fog. Iranian authorities launched a massive search operation for the helicopter, but there were no signs of life after rescue teams reached the crash site this morning. There are no signs of life in the wreckage of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, Iranian Red Crescent chief Pir Hossein Kolivand said on Iranian state television.
Tehran initially refused to admit that it was a major crash and not just a landing accident. According to experts, this tactic (the use of the phrase "hard landing") was also used by the Russians to avoid panic among the population. It is characteristic of authoritarian regimes that rule by controlling the media.
63-year-old Raisi, who was considered the favorite to succeed the ayatollah, was returning from a visit to Azerbaijan. Iran's army chief of staff ordered all resources of the army and elite Revolutionary Guards to be used in search and rescue operations, which were hampered by bad weather.
This morning Iranian media also showed footage from the crash site for the first time. The machine is completely burnt. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other high-ranking Iranian officials were also on board the helicopter. The remains are located in a hard-to-reach area in northwestern Iran. According to Iranian media, pictures from the scene show that the machine crashed on a mountain top. "President Raisi's helicopter was completely burnt in the crash... unfortunately we fear that all the passengers are dead," an Iranian official told Reuters.
Iranian Vice President Mohsen Mansouri confirmed the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in yesterday's helicopter crash. Iran's government meets in an emergency session.
This morning, the official IRNA agency published footage from a drone of the wreckage of the helicopter, of which there is apparently nothing left. They are scattered along a steep slope in a wooded area. According to the agency, the president flew in a "Bel-212" helicopter. American production. IRNA reported that the government will hold an extraordinary meeting in connection with the death of Raisi, but there is no information on the exact time at which it will take place. According to another local agency, Tasnim, the procedure of identifying the bodies of the victims has begun on the spot. Raisi and Abdolakhian were returning from a meeting with the president of neighboring Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, when their helicopter disappeared from radar yesterday afternoon.