Footage of the moments when the helicopter crashed in East Azerbaijan, resulting in the deaths of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian, has been released.
President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian lost their lives when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed on their way back from attending the dam opening ceremony on the border between Azerbaijan and Iran, which was also attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
In the morning, footage of the wreckage of the helicopter being reached after 15 hours of work was shared on social media. The footage also captured the cries of the rescue teams upon reaching the wreckage.
In another video, Ibrahim Raisi's ring was found, covered in blood.
Search and rescue teams faced difficulties due to adverse weather conditions, and Iran requested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Turkey for aerial search operations. Turkey assigned the Akıncı UAV to assist in the search for the helicopter crash involving President Raisi and other officials. The UAV detected a heat source believed to be the wreckage of the helicopter and shared its coordinates with Iranian authorities.
Iranian state television announced that there were no signs of life at the helicopter wreckage site after the findings of the Akıncı UAV.
President Raisi attended the dam opening ceremony on the Iran-Azerbaijan border the previous day. On their way back, Raisi, along with Foreign Minister Abdollahian and other officials, were involved in a helicopter crash. Turkey assigned the Akıncı UAV to assist in the search and rescue operations at Iran's request. The coordinates of the helicopter wreckage detected by the Akıncı UAV were shared with Iranian authorities. Iranian teams confirmed that there were no survivors from the crash.
Following Raisi's death, First Deputy Muhammad Muhbir was appointed as the interim president. According to the Iranian constitution, a committee consisting of the speaker of the parliament, the head of the judiciary, and the first deputy president must make arrangements for the selection of a new president within a maximum of 50 days. In Iran, presidents are elected by the people from among the candidates approved by the Guardian Council.
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