Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead after the helicopter he was traveling crashed in the mountains, Iranian state media is reporting.
Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials were confirmed dead on Monday.
Their helicopter crashed on Sunday in a mountainous region of the country’s northwest, triggering a desperate search by authorities.
The mountainous terrain and bad weather made the search difficult under darkness on Sunday night.
However, the crash site was located early on Monday morning.
State TV said earlier on Monday that there was “no sign of life” at the crash site.
The helicopter that was carrying 63-year-old Raisi, 60-year-old Abdollahian, and other officials reportedly made a “hard landing” on Sunday.
According to state media, the crash site was across a steep valley, which gave no immediate cause for the crash.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Pir Hossein Kolivand told state media rescuers saw the helicopter as the sun rose on Monday from a distance of roughly 1.25 miles.
The officials had been missing for more than 12 hours when the helicopter was finally found.
Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province when the helicopter made, what state TV