Iran’s President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were martyred in a helicopter crash in the Varzaqan region of East-Azarbaijan province while serving the people.
Raeisi and Amir-Abdollahian along with their entourage, had traveled to East-Azarbaijan province to inaugurate and launch the Qiz Qalasi Dam project and complete the development of the Khoda Afarin Dam, which was jointly implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
After the ceremony, the helicopter carrying the President, Foreign Minister, and their delegation crashed due to bad weather conditions in the Varzaqan region while returning.
Despite the rapid response of dozens of rescue teams dispatched to aid the President and his companions, the efforts to locate the crashed helicopter took hours due to the foggy weather and the difficult terrain of the mountainous and forested region.
Finally, this morning (May 20), rescue teams from the Red Crescent Society of Iran and people’s groups reached the scene of the accident using Iranian drones.
In this air crash, in addition to President Raeisi, and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the Friday Prayer Leader of Tabriz, and Malek Rahmati, the Governor of East-Azarbaijan province, were also martyred.