Ebrahim Raisi: Iranian President, All Passengers Confirmed Dead Following Helicopter Crash

• On Sunday, May 19, a helicopter carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province
• Following the search, the Red Crescent Society found the helicopter wreckage, but there was no sign of life
• Footage from the scene shows that the helicopter that was carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was almost destroyed

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and eight other passengers have been confirmed dead following a helicopter crash on Sunday, May 19.

What the Red Crescent Society said about Ebrahim Raisi's crash

After hours of searching, the rescue team located the helicopter on the slope of a hill in the Varzaghan region of East Azerbaijan province.

The chairman of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kolivand, announced that the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials had been located.

The head of the Red Crescent Society said there was no sign of life, as the helicopter completely burned out during the crash.

"The rescue forces reached the remains of the helicopter. Upon discovering the location of the crashed helicopter, no signs of the helicopter's occupants being alive were observed," Kolivand said.

Footage shared shows the helicopter almost entirely destroyed.

"President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash ... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," an Iranian official said as quoted by Reuters.

How Ebrahim Raisi's chopper crashed

As reported earlier, the helicopter carrying Raisi suffered a “hard landing” near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Raisi was in neighbouring Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam alongside President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, May 18.

According to Aljazeera, the state television said people who were with the president inside the helicopter managed to make an emergency call.

It was gathered that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and the representative of the Iranian supreme leader to the province, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, were in the same helicopter with Raisi.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke