The president of theIranmissing since last night, Ebrahim Raisi and the Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian they died inaccident in helicopter. The destroyed vehicle was found in the Dizmar forestlocated between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa, in the province of East Azerbaijan.
Raisi and all the passengers died
The Red Crescent has Raisi’s helicopter found and informed that all passengers are dead. In a note, during the approach to the vehicle, the absence of signs of life in the seriously destroyed and burning vehicle had already been confirmed.
In the early hours of the morning (in Italy) the news also arrived from Iranian news agencies: Raisi and the Foreign Minister Amirabdollahiantogether with others who were on board the crashed helicopter, they are all dead.
How the Iranian helicopter was found
A Turkish drone detected the helicopter location on which Raisi was travelling. From the images a heat source had been discovered: it was the helicopter on fire in a mountainous and wooded area in adverse weather conditions. Turkey is one of the countries that immediately made itself available in the search for the vehicle, together with Europe (which responded to the request for help in the search for Iran). The video of the discovery was broadcast by Turkey’s state news agency.
In the meantime they have been send rescue teams on site detected by the drone. The head of the Red Crescent confirmed the deployment of 73 teams, including detection dogs. The weather conditions remained adverse for a long time, greatly extending the travel times of the 2km distance between the base camp and the site of the discovery.
Who are the victims of the accident?
Several Iranian officials were killed in the accident:
- Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian
- East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati
- Representative of Iranian Supreme Leader in East Azerbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem
- Head of the presidential guard Mehdi Mousavi
- The pilot, co-pilot and crew of the helicopter
The world’s reaction to the accident
The reactions to the news of the discovery of the lifeless body of Ebrahim Raisi. The Venezuelan president, for example, has expressed his views condolences to Iran and its supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif expressed his condolences in a message to the deceased “brothers”. Also the Prime Minister of India he said he was “deeply saddened” by Raisi’s death
On the other hand, the West has not yet expressed itself. Before the helicopter was found Rick Scott, a Republican lawmaker, welcomed the incident: “He was not loved or respected and no one will miss him.” Comments are awaited from China, a strategic partner.
Photo source: ANSA
