Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi killed in helicopter crash

IRAN (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - According to Iranian State Media, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been killed in a helicopter crash.

According to Iranian officials, the country's foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, along with all other passengers onboard were also killed in the crash.

Iran State Media says President Raisi was returning from an event at the country's border with Azerbaijan when it made a hard landing in a mountainous area.

State-run media reported there was "no sign of life" at the crash site. It happened on Sunday near Tavil Village in northwest Iran.

Inclement weather conditions and impassibility of the area had hampered search and rescue operations for several hours.

Turkey and Russia had sent aircraft to help with the search operations.

Raisi was elected president in 2021 after failing to get into the office in 2017.