Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash | EUROtoday

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash after it went lacking in a mountainous area of northern Iran in foggy climate situations.

The plane went down in between Jolfa and Varzaqan, a area on the border of Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan, round 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital Tehran.

It was carrying Raisi, 63, and Iranian overseas minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian following a go to with the Azerbaijani president to debate an infrastructure undertaking over the Aras River, which separates Iran and Nakhchivan.

The state-run Mehr information company on Monday introduced that the president, overseas minister and East Azerbaijan Province governor Malek Rahmati had been “martyred” shortly after the wreckage of the helicopter was discovered on the slope of a steep mountain. An official individually instructed Reuters that the president had died, and an announcement was additionally made on Iranian state TV.

Earlier, an official with the rescue operation stated “President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash,” as they dominated out discovering any survivors.

Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter, in line with reviews. Turkish authorities stated drone footage confirmed a fireplace some 20km south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the aspect of the mountain.

Up to 40 rescue groups have been concerned within the frantic seek for Raisi which went on for hours because of fog, rain and darkish, Iran’s well being minister stated. In the early hours of Monday, a rescue staff, sporting vivid jackets and head torches, huddled round a GPS system as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot in a blizzard.

Iran’s revolutionary guard, ambulances, surgeons, rangers, drones and canines have been scrambled to the world to seek out the helicopter crash web site.

Before Raisi was discovered, Iran’s supreme chief Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei stated he hoped God would return him to Iran and urged individuals to wish for his well being.

The White House stated president Joe Biden had been briefed on reviews in regards to the crash, whereas China and Russia stated they have been deeply involved.

The EU had supplied its emergency satellite tv for pc mapping expertise within the seek for the helicopter.

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