Iranian President Raisi is confirmed dead after helicopter crash
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a May 19 helicopter crash on the Azerbaijani border, Iranian Vice President Mohsen Mansouri announced, Reuters reported.
The Governor of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, Malek Rahmati, and a regional religious leader, Ayatollah Mohammed Ali Ale-Hashem, were also killed in the crash, Iran's semi-official Mehr News reported.
Iran's state agency IRINN confirmed the death of all the passengers.
"Unfortunately, after locating the crashed helicopter, no signs of life of the helicopter's passengers were observed," IRNN said.
The Iranian constitution requires that in the event of the death of the president, the first vice president, with the approval of the Supreme Leader, assumes the powers and functions of the president.
Mohammad Mohber will take over this role should Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approve the decision, CNN said.
The helicopter accident of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
The helicopter carrying Raisi was believed to have crashed, Iranian media reported on May 19.
Some of the president's companions traveling with him on the helicopter had managed to contact the center, raising hopes that there might be survivors, media initially reported.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan Province, and other officials flew with Raisi, IRNA news agency reported.
Iranian officials had been able to contact two people on board the presidential helicopter, an official told CNN after it became known that Raisi had crashed.
They initially declared that the plane crash was "not serious".
The helicopter of the Iranian President was completely burned during the accident, the Reuters agency wrote on May 20, citing an Iranian official. It is likely that all passengers died.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
