20th May, 2024
All nine people on board of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter which crashed in the country’s North-West have died, the media reported.
Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian are among the nine dead, according to the report.
On Monday morning, local media published images taken by a drone showing debris from what appears to be a completely destroyed aircraft on a steep slope in the middle of the forest.
Raisi and Amirabdollahian were travelling back from a meeting with the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, when their aircraft disappeared from radar on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Iranian cabinet has convened a second emergency meeting in less than 24 hours following the confirmation of the death of Raisi.
Local media reported on Monday that the Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber had already chaired a meeting on Sunday evening after the helicopter went missing with nine people on board over Iran’s north-west.
According to protocol, with Raisi’s death, Mokhber should assume power, pending approval from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
New elections will then have to hold within 50 days. (dpa/NAN)
