The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi is dead. Iranian state TV gave the official news of his passing, calling him “martyr of service» and specifying that the place and time of the funeral ceremony will be announced. Rescuers found the helicopter with him and him on board Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
![](https://www.gedistatic.it/content/gnn/img/lastampa/2024/05/20/074620909-401cb2a0-d365-42b8-8342-fb54cc7f0f69.jpg)
Iran, what happens after Raisi’s death: powers pass to the vice president and elections within 50 days
Now the bodies of the victims will be transferred to Tabriz, in northwestern Iran, near the site of the plane crash. and the search operations can be considered concluded.
![](https://www.gedistatic.it/content/gnn/img/lastampa/2024/05/20/082436279-e2bd1251-61a1-419f-bf21-be0c0dcfe893.jpg)
![](https://www.gedistatic.it/content/gnn/img/lastampa/2024/05/20/082436279-e2bd1251-61a1-419f-bf21-be0c0dcfe893.jpg)
The red circle shows the area where the accident in which Raisi died occurred
The discovery
The head of the Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Koolivand, explained that the rescuers had spotted the aircraft from a distance of about 2 kilometers with a drone, sent from Türkiyethat has heat sources detected. Only in this way was the vehicle located and it was understood from inside there was no sign of life. Immediately after the discovery, the Red Crescent had specified that “The situation was not good”. Search teams had found parts of the aircraft’s wing and blade on a hill. Around 5 in the morning the clarification: «There is no sign of life in the helicopter and the cabin is burned». It is likely that immediately after the crash, the aircraft would have been completely engulfed in flames.
Iran, helicopter carrying President Raisi identified: images of the wreckage
The chaos after the accident was announced
In the early afternoon of Sunday the news spread of an “abrupt landing” of a helicopter from the convoy carrying Raisi: the Iranian president was returning from Azerbaijan, where he had participated with his Azerbaijani counterpart in the inauguration of the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams. From that moment on, chaos erupts, with lots of conflicting news starting to circulate. After a few hours everything seems to be under control: the accident is described as an “emergency landing” and the Iranian News Agency Mehr announces that «Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is continuing its journey by land, in the direction of Tabriz”.
Iran, President Raisi in flight on the day his helicopter made an emergency landing
The agency Tasnimwrites instead on A photo is also circulating on social media showing Raisi standing in front of a helicopter. All this will turn out to be false and the Mehr it will also cancel the agency that announced the continuation of the journey by land.
The calls to prayer and the images of the rescue efforts
The news of Raisi safe in a car, however, jars with the calls to prayer addressed to the population. First the semi-official news agency Fars urges Iranians to pray, then state television began broadcasting prayers for the president, broadcasting images of the faithful in the Shrine of Imam Reza, in the city of Mashhad, one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam. Not only is the location of the accident still unknown, but… videos from rescuers show harsh weather conditions with bad weather and thick fog.
Iran, the first images of the search for Raisi’s helicopter
There are more than 40 emergency teams involved in the search for the helicopter. Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, points out that the weather conditions are extremely unfavorable and the terrain is difficult to travel: «We used drones And aerial measurementsbut due to bad weather conditions, aerial search operations are not feasible. The area is rugged and mountainous». The same helicopters used for the rescue are forced to return: “An emergency helicopter was sent, but it was unable to land due to the heavy fog and was forced to return” says a Tehran official. An anonymous source declares a ReutersThat the lives of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian are «at risk following the helicopter crash. We are still confident – he adds –, but the information coming from the accident site is very worrying.”
Israel: “We are not involved”
“We hope that God will bring the honorable president and his companions back into the arms of the nation. Everyone should pray for the health of this group of servants. If the Iranian people do not worry, there will be no interruptions in the country’s work.” is the message of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. High officials in Jerusalem – reports the website Ynet – they unofficially clarify that Israel had nothing to do with or was involved in the incidentand that, according to reports, it was caused by harsh weather conditions. The national broadcaster begins to broadcast the film of a rescue team who, wearing reflective jackets and torches, huddle around a GPS device while they continue their searches on foot on a dark mountain path, in the middle of a snowstorm. “We are thoroughly searching every inch of the general accident area,” says a regional army commander. «The area experiences very cold, rainy and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow».
*Updating**
#Iran #Raisi #dead #Turkish #drone #heat #sources #crashed #helicopter