Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have dead after a helicopter carrying him and other officials crashed in a mountainous and forested area of the country.
Nine people, including a provincial governor, were on board when the aircraft went down in northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and are all believed to be dead, Al Jazeera reports.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said his country would observe a day of mourning and the flag would fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for Raisi and his companions.
In a post on X, Sharif called Raisi and Amirabdollahian “good friends of Pakistan” and extended his “deepest condolences and sympathies to the Iranian nation on this terrible loss”.
Crashed helicopter: All eyes on Iran as world awaits president’s fate
Iran presidential helicopter crashes, search underway
“The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with customary courage,” he added.
The helicopter crashed on Saturday and the search was hampered by severe fog and rain near the crash site, in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Paul Beaver, an aviation expert and former helicopter pilot, said the cloud cover, fog, mist and low temperature must have contributed to the crash of the aircraft.
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