Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, his chief guard, foreign minister, governor of East Azerbaijan province, a personal aide of Ayatollah Khamenei, and 3 members of the helicopter crew were killed in the accident.
The Iranian Interior Minister himself confirmed that his team has discovered the wreckage of the helicopter, which had gone missing last night in a dense forest located 100 km away from Tabriz.The speaker affirmed that all of the bodies had suffered severe burns.
Officials reported that the fire had burnt some bodies beyond recognition. Authorities identified the 3 crew members of the helicopter who died in the accident as pilot Colonel Syed Tahir Mustafavi, pilot Colonel Mohsin Daryanosh, and flight technician Major Bahrozish.
Apart from this, Chief Guard Sardar Syed Mehdi Yousefi of President Ibrahim Raisi’s security team was also present in the helicopter.
Also read this news: Moments before the helicopter crash, the last photo of the Iranian president came to light
President Ibrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian, Governor of East Azarbaijan Province Malik Rahmati and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s spokesman Mohammad Ali Al Hashem were also on board the helicopter.
According to Iranian media, all the people on board the helicopter died.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, expressing his heartfelt sorrow over the accident, announced a 5-day national mourning day across the country and appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar as interim president for 2 months.
Read more: Iranian President’s helicopter crashes, search continues
The Iranian president’s helicopter crashed in bad weather while returning from inaugurating a joint dam in Azerbaijan.
Bad weather hampered rescue efforts and it took hours to find the helicopter.
Authorities shifted the bodies to a hospital in Tabriz, and severe burns have made them unrecognizable.
Many heads of state, including the United States, Russia, China, India and all Muslim countries, expressed their sorrow over the death of the Iranian president in a helicopter accident and expressed their heartfelt sorrow and condolences to the spiritual leader and people of Iran.