Iran President Raisi helicopter crash: Who all were on board the doomed chopper?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a fatal helicopter crash in the country's mountainous region, confirmedthe Iranian media on Monday (May 20). The convoy of Raisi comprised three helicopters which included two which safely landed in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

Who all werein the helicopter?

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Iranian President Raisi was accompanied by Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and the province's main imam in the helicopter, as reported by the IRNA news agency.

However, the exact number of people travelling in the helicopter withRaisi is yet to be confirmed.

Raisi gained power in the presidential elections of 2021 and was believed to be close to Iran's Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.

During his term, Iran faced one of the country's biggest protests since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.The protests erupted in 2022 after an Iranian woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody which led to massive demonstrations. The government brutally hunted down the protesters for several months.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahianwas aconservative leader of the country, who enjoyed the support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).

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He supported the loose coalition of militant organisations and proxies in the country, which was called the “axis of resistance.”

MalekRahmati was recently appointed East Azerbaijan province's newgovernor by the Iranian Cabinet.

Rahmati was earlier appointed the head of Iran’s Privatization Organisation. He had replaced Zeinolabedin Khorram who was East Azerbaijan's top administrative official for two years.

Iran’s supreme leader’s representative in East Azerbaijan province and an imam in Tabriz, Mohammad Ali al-Hashim was also among those dead.

Al-Hashim is a member of the Expediency Council's provincial chamber and a provincial deputy in the Assembly of Experts.

Here's what happened

Raisi was confirmed dead by Iranian media outlets on Monday (May 20) after his helicopter crashed.

"The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty for the people of Iran and was martyred," stated the local Mehr news agency.

Watch:Ebrahim Raisi news: Iran President Raisi, Foreign Minister Abdollahian killed in chopper crash

As per the report, the helicopter carrying Raisi met an accident in the Jolfa region of East Azerbaijan province on Sunday (May 19), as it flew in bad weather conditions.

The accident took place in Dizmar's mountainous protected forest area near the town of Varzaghan, as reported by the official IRNA news agency.

Iran's Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand had earlier said that the helicopter had been located by the rescue teams and they were heading towards the site.State TV had reported that there were "no signs" of life among passengers "as of yet."

(With inputs from agencies)