The death of Iran's president, Ebrahim Raishi, and the country's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, was announced by the country's state television shortly after the wreckage of the helicopter they were on was found, which crashed on Sunday afternoon.
"The Ayatollah was martyred," Tasnim news agency wrote in a post.
Ayatollah #คุ่วิด به شهدة ريست pic.twitter.com/dTjLaBRtT2
— تسنيم news agency 🇮🇷 (@Tasnimnews_Fa) May 20, 2024
The news was also broadcast by the Iranian agency Mehr
🔴# BREAKING
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and the country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were martyred in the helicopter crash that occurred on Sunday.https://t.co/DLoPswB0e5— Mehr News Agency (@MehrnewsCom) May 20, 2024
In addition to Iran's president and the country's foreign minister, there were seven other people on board the helicopter who are also presumed dead. They are the Governor of East Azerbaijan Province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz Friday Prayer Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem as well as a pilot, co-pilot, crew chief, security chief and another bodyguard.
The debris
The Bell 212 helicopter carrying Raisi and the other 8 people was found damaged and burned shortly before 6 a.m. today, Monday.
Drone footage of the wreckage was taken by the Red Crescent and aired on Iranian state media. The FARS news agency showed the crash site on a steep, wooded hillside, with little left of the helicopter beyond a blue-and-white tail.
# BREAKING So far, "no sign of life" has been detected at the crash site, Iran's state TV said, as rescue units are moving towards the wreckage.
- Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 20, 2024
An official told Reuters news agency that "unfortunately" it appeared that all on board were dead, adding that the helicopter was completely charred.
Earlier, a Turkish drone had detected a source of heat, estimating it to be the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi" and "the coordinates were shared with the Iranian authorities", with Anadolu also uploading thermal camera video.
Source: protothema.gr
