'No Sign of Life' At Crash Site of Helicopter Carrying Iran's President Raisi: Reports

Raisi Chopper Crash: The Iranian state press on Monday reported that there are ‘no sign of life’ spotted at the crash site of a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and others.

The chopper crash site is across a steep valley and rescuers are yet to make their way to the location, the state media said. 

With the dawn on Monday, the rescuers spotted the helicopter from a distance of about 1.25 miles, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, told state media. He did not elaborate and the officials had been missing at that point by over 12 hours.

According to them, no survivor was spotted at the crash site of chopper carrying President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollhian and others.

The incident comes months after Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched a drone attack and missile offensive against Israel. 

Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women's rights - making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.

Where the Chopper Crashed? 

The Iranian President was travelling in Iran's East Azerbaijan province when his chopper faced ‘hard landing’ near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Later, the state media reported the incident site to far east near the village of Uzi, but the details remained contradictory. 

Along with Raisi were Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, a state-run news agency reported. 

Notably, several local government officials used the word ‘crash’ to describe the incident, while others referred to “hard landing” or an “incident.”