Tehran, May 20 : Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a helicopter crash that occurred on Sunday, Mehr news agency reported.

The helicopter carrying President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed in a dense forested area in the Iranian province of East Azarbaijan on Sunday.

The helicopter’s passengers included Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to East Azarbaijan province, along with several other people.

President Raisi had travelled to East Azarbaijan province early on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Ilham Aliyev, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The accident occurred during his return journey as a result of dense fog in the region.

The helicopter crashed close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jolfa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and is roughly between 70km to 100km away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.

Since Sunday afternoon, 40 separate rescue teams had been dispatched to the forested and mountainous area.

Harsh weather made the region accessible only by ground teams, as aerial approaches were unfeasible.

The mountainous terrain and natural obstacles rendered communication with the president’s entourage nearly impossible.

UNI