Iran's president killed in helicopter crash amid foggy weather

01:22

Searchers find Iranian president's body in chopper crash

Search and rescue crews combed a rugged mountainside for 18-hours in fog and heavy rain before finding the charred remains of a helicopter that carried President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's foreign minister and four others. The aircraft  apparently struck the mountain in dense fog.

EAST AZERBAIJAN PROVINCE, Iran – Recovery crews found the wreckage of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi early Monday morning after it crashed Sunday in heavy fog. None of the six people aboard the chopper survived.

After an 18-hour search for the wreckage across a steep mountainous forest, a drone located the heat source from the president's helicopter that crashed into the hillside. Crews had to navigate by foot through the mud, heavy rain and fog to get to the charred pieces of helicopter spread over the area in the trees.

Video showed members of the Red Crescent Society struggling with body bags as they carried the president, foreign minister and four others across the rugged, slanted forest. Crews had to go in on foot because the fog was too thick for helicopters and the ground too steep for vehicles.

An official told local media that "all the bodies were recognizable" despite the burns.

The president and foreign minister were flying through the mountains in the northwest of the country after a dam inauguration with the president of neighboring Azerbaijan.

In this handout image supplied by the Office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Meets with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev as they inaugurate the Qiz Qalasi Dam, constructed on the Aras River on the joint borders between Iran and Azerbaijan, after which his helicopter has reportedly crashed near the city of Jolfa, on the border with Azerbaijan on May 19, 2024 in Jabrayil, Azerbaijan. 

(Office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran / Getty Images)

The interior minister confirmed on state-run TV that one of the helicopters of the president's convoy was forced to make "a hard landing."

"There have been contacts with [the president's] companions, but given that the area is mountainous and it is difficult to establish contacts, we hope that the rescue teams will reach the site of the incident sooner and give us more information," Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said to reporters.

One of the victims was alive for up to an hour after the crash and had a conversation with the head of the president's office, according to an official.

01:31

Search continues for Iran's president after reports his helicopter crashed

Iranian rescue teams searched a remote area of the East Azerbaijan Province, Iran in fog, trying to locate the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister after reports that it crashed.

"Two of the passengers of this flight communicated with the rescue forces, meaning that the accident was probably of low severity," Iran's Deputy President for Executive Affairs said in a statement during the search, holding out hope that the victims would be found alive.

Emergency medical teams of doctors were sent immediately to the site after the crash was reported.

Due to heavy fog the Iranian president's helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing that local media is calling a crash.

(FOX Weather)

Iran's former foreign minister told the media that one of the causes of the crash was U.S. sanctions on selling aviation parts to the country.

The Supreme Leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei, appointed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as interim president. Raisi was rumored to be next in line for the supreme leader position.