Iran President's chopper found, ‘no sign of life’ at crash site: Report

While rescuers spotted the wreckage of the helicopter that was carrying Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi and other officials Monday morning, officials quoted by state media have said that there was "no sign of life" at the crash site.

A day after the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed, local media claimed on Monday that 'no trace of life' was found at the accident site. After hours of searching over steep terrain in severe weather, rescue personnel found the wrecked chopper, which was nearly completely destroyed, according to drone footage.

On Sunday, the helicopter crashed in Jolfa, located in the country's hilly northern area. The incident occurred when Raisi and others were returning from a visit to Iran's border with Azerbaijan. According to CNN, which cited Iranian media, there were nine persons on board the helicopter: Raisi, Abdollahian, three Iranian officials, an imam, and members of the flight and security teams. Malek Rahmati, the governor of the province of Eastern Azerbaijan, was one of the three officials.

Several world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed concerns over the crash news and prayed for the Iranian President’s well-being. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Sunday interrupted his vacation and returned to the White House for an emergency meeting.

China said on Monday it was “deeply concerned” after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter went missing in what Tehran’s state media described as an accident.

Meanwhile, Turkey stated late Sunday night that it will send night-vision search and rescue helicopters and drones to Iran. Turkey is also sending six trucks and 32 climbing search and rescue specialists to the border country. Aside from Turkey, Russia intended to send special planes and 50 trained mountain rescuers to the accident site to assist in the search operation. According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, two special Russian helicopters will be flown to the location from Armenia. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment.