CNN: No survivors” were found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian state news agency IRINN and semi-official news agency Mehr News reported.
There are no signs of life from those traveling on the helicopter that crashed in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, said Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, according to Iranian state news IRIB.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is believed dead after Iranian agencies reported that “no survivors” were found at the crash site of a helicopter carrying the leader, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and seven others.
Some background: A former hardline judiciary chief, Raisi was Iran’s eighth president. The former prosecutor and judge was elected in 2021 following a historically uncompetitive presidential contest.
Next in the line of succession would be First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, if approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s Supreme Leader serves as the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic, dwarfing the powers of the country’s president.
Unlike his predecessor, the moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, Raisi had fostered a close alliance with Khamenei. Many Iranians believed Raisi was being groomed to one day succeed the ailing 85-year-old Khamenei.
At least 73 rescue teams are in the area of the helicopter crash near the village of Tavil in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, according to Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Tasnim reported.
Kolivand said the “the situation is not good,” according to Iranian state news IRNA.
CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi contributed reporting to this post.