Iranian President and Foreign Minister Killed in Helicopter Crash

 

 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have died in a helicopter crash.

The crash occurred as they were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam near the Azerbaijan Republic border.

Photos from the crash site show the helicopter in pieces on the side of a mountain, with one image revealing the tail of the helicopter upside down in a grassy area.Rescue teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) have identified the wreckage and reported "no signs of the helicopter’s occupants being alive." An Iranian official confirmed to Reuters that the helicopter was “completely burned.”

 The IRCS mobilized 46 rapid response teams from multiple provinces. Turkish drones also aided in locating the wreckage by detecting heat sources. The crash site, near the city of Varzaqan in East Azarbaijan province, was identified after intensive search operations by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and other rescue teams.