BREAKING: Iran Confirms NO SURVIVORS in Helicopter Crash Carrying President of Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Four More at Burned Site in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
"No Sign of Life" as Iran Also Confirms Deaths of Seyyed Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, Governor Malek Rahmati, the Pilot and Co-Pilot
Iranian state TV says ‘no sign of life’ after wreckage of helicopter carrying President Raisi found
UPDATE: On Monday, rescue teams located the helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and other government officials that had crashed in a mountainous region in northwest Iran on Sunday. State media told the Associated Press that “no sign of life” was detected.
Shortly thereafter, Iranian officials confirmed the death of Raisi along with other passengers in the helicopter including Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Islamic Republic's representative to the East Azerbaijan province Seyyed Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, and the province's Governor Malek Rahmati. The helicopter's pilot and co-pilot were also killed.
Earlier in the day, the search for the helicopter was postposed due to weather and Iran suspended the search from the air. It continued on foot with rescuers unable to use cars due to the muddy, unpaved roads.
“Unfortunately, continuing aerial operations was no longer possible due to intense fog across the region,” Babak Yektaparast, spokesperson for the emergency services organization, said according to Al Jazeera. He also stated that additional air ambulances had been dispatchedto be on hand.
The helicopter, transporting President Raisi and other high-ranking officials, reportedly made a crash landing while across the northeast region of Iran. Raisi had been attending the inauguration of a dam alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev before the incident occurred.
Confirmed passengers aboard the ill-fated helicopter include Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem.
The two other security convoy helicopters safely returned to Tabriz.
Here we see that Iran state television released their official footage of the deadly helicopter crash.
According to state television, there was no immediate cause for the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60, was among those killed.
Raisi was accompanied by Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan region, as well as other officials and bodyguards, according to state-run IRNA news agency.
Iran state television released footage of the deadly helicopter crash.
On Sunday morning, Iranian state television reported that the helicopter carrying Iranian president President Ebrahim Raisi had crash-landed.
There was no ready explanation for what happened to the helicopter. Semiofficial news agencies provided several explanations for what was happening.
Raisi had visited Azerbaijan early Sunday to celebrate the opening of a dam with the nation’s President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third that the two countries have built on the Aras River.
According to Iranian state media, the event occurred at Jolfa, a border city located approximately 375 miles northwest of Tehran.
Iran deploys a variety of helicopters, but international sanctions have made it difficult to obtain spare parts. Its military air fleet predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Raisi, 63, is a hardliner who formerly headed the nation’s high court is regarded as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some analysts believe he might succeed the 85-year-old leader upon his death or retirement from the position.
He has been in the presidency since 2021, when he won the country’s last election with the lowest voter turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. He is currently under US sanctions for his role in the mass execution of thousands of political detainees in 1988.
Iran is currently enriching uranium to virtually weapons-grade levels under Raisi’s leadership, and obstructing international inspections. Raisi stated last month that his hands were “on the trigger” if Israel targeted any of its nuclear installations, adding to the growing tensions.
