Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi dies: What led to the helicopter crash? What will happen next?

A pall of gloom has descended upon Iran after news came in that a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in a foggy mountain area. People could be seen lining up at mosques all over the country to pray for his wellbeing and safe return as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was in the helicopter with him when it made a hard landing.

However, it seems that their prayers went unanswered as state media reported that officials had located the wreckage of the helicopter that lost contact in the East Azerbaijan province and that there were “no signs of life”.

What do we know of the crash? How are countries reacting to it? Have officials been able to trace the helicopter? Here’s all that we know of the incident so far.

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What exactly happened?

On Sunday, reports of a helicopter carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi as well as its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashing first circulated on social media and were quickly picked up by local media.

The crash took place in the mountainous protected forest area of Dizmar near the town of Varzaghan in the Jolfa region of East Azerbaijan province, according to official IRNA. Earlier, Raisi along with Amir-Abdollahian had inaugurated a dam project with his counterpart from Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on the border of the two countries.

According to reports, Dizmar experienced sudden bad weather, leading to the accident. Iran’s interior minister Ahmad Vahidi later described it as a “hard landing due to poor weather conditions”. For the unaware, a “hard landing” is when an aircraft lands harder and faster than it should, because of the weather, pilot errors, or mechanical issues.

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Notably, Raisi’s convoy had comprised two other helicopters that landed safely in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

An AFP report stated that Vahidi said it was “difficult to establish communication” with the third helicopter which was carrying Raisi.

What’s happening on the ground?

Soon after the news broke that the helicopter carrying the Iranian president had crashed, the authorities dispatched search-and-rescue teams to scour the area of the crash. IRNA  reported that 40 teams are part of the operation. Moreover, military personnel along with the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been sent, said the army’s chief-of-staff Mohammad Bagheri.

However, rescue officials are having to contend with poor weather and fogginess, making it harder for them to reach the helicopter crash site. State TV has reported that there has been heavy rain, and IRNA called the area a “forest.”

Iran also dispatched a rescue helicopter to the accident site, but it couldn’t land owing to the bad weather conditions there. Following that, Turkey announced that it was sending in unmanned aerial vehicle and was preparing to send a helicopter with night vision capabilities to join the search-and-rescue efforts.

Later, the commander of the East Azerbaijan Army Corps told Iran’s Tasnim news agency that a signal was received from the helicopter and a cell phone of one of the crew members at the accident site.

European Commission’s Copernicus satellite mapping system has also been activated to help with the response.

Other countries such as Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan have all extended their support to Iran, offering all and any kind of assistance in the search and rescue.

Have officials found anything?

Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.

Later, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent reported that they had been able to locate the wreckage of the helicopter carrying President Raisi. Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand was quoted as telling AFP, “The helicopter has been found. Now, we are moving toward the helicopter,” adding “the situation is not good.”

IRNA then released footage of what officials described as the crash site which showed soldiers speaking in the local language saying: “There it is, we found it.”

Iranian media then reported that there was “no sign” of life among passengers of the helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials. “Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reported.

Reuters has also reported that the helicopter was “completely burned” in the crash, citing an Iranian official.

How are Iranians reacting?

As news came in of the helicopter crashing, people across Iran could be seen praying for the 63-year-old Raisi. One Tehran citizen told AFP that she “feared the worst”. “It’s a strange feeling, like we felt before with Haj Qasem Soleimani,” she said, referring to revered Revolutionary Guards commander who was killed in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking on the crash earlier had requested prayers for them and assured the Iranian people not to worry, as there will be no issues in running the country.

However, now with reports coming in of “no signs of life” there is a concern about what happens next in the country.

Who’s in charge now?

As per article 131 of Iran’s constitution if a president dies in office, the first vice president will assume powers. In this case, First Vice President 69-year-old Mohammad Mokhber will assume power after receiving confirmation of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state.

An election must then be arranged within no more than 50 days. Iran was scheduled to hold presidential elections in 2025.

With inputs from agencies