Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died when their helicopter crashed as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, the country’s official state TV confirmed on Monday
Rescue teams had been scouring the area since Sunday afternoon after a helicopter carrying Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials had gone missing.
Early Monday, relief workers located the missing helicopter, with state TV announcing the president’s death.
“The servant of Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people,” state television said Monday, with Mehr news agency also saying he was dead.
Fears had been growing for the 63-year-old ultraconservative after contact was lost with the helicopter carrying him as well as his foreign minister and others in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday.
A total of nine people were on board the aircraft, according to Tasnim news agency.
Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand said rescue teams headed towards the site of the crash after locating the aircraft.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to “not worry” about the leadership of the Islamic Republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work.”
Expressions of concern and offers of help came from abroad, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia, China, and Turkey, as well as from the European Union which activated its rapid response mapping service to aid in the search effort.
Iran’s cabinet held an emergency meeting led by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber after the incident, the IRNA news agency reported.
with AFP
