Iran's president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site, state media says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi is dormant pursuing a chopper crash, Iranian authorities media said Monday morning.

The Iranian curate of overseas affairs and the others onboard were besides killed successful the crash. Raisi's medication began an exigency gathering connected Monday pursuing the quality of his death.

The chopper carrying the officials crashed Sunday arsenic it traveled done rainy and foggy conditions successful the agrarian mountainous country adjacent Kalibar and Warzghan successful bluish Iran, adjacent the borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Red Crescent confirmed earlier Monday it had located the missing chopper carrying Raisi, which had initially been said to person made a "hard landing." The caput of Iran's Red Crescent, Hossein Kolivand, had told authorities media determination was "no motion of life."

"The president's chopper has been found," the caput of Iran's Red Crescent said to authorities TV. "We tin spot the chopper and we are moving towards the place. We person nary details. Let america get connected apical of the chopper to denote the details. We are astir 2 kilometers distant from the helicopter."

"Things are not bully here," helium said aft being asked if they could spot signs of a clang oregon burn.

Search and rescue operations were launched not agelong aft the incidental happened, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Two blistery spots were identified successful the colony of Tawal by a Turkish drone sent to assistance with rescue efforts, IRNA, Iran's authorities quality agency, reported aboriginal Monday section time.

Red Crescent rescue teams began "moving towards the imaginable landing spot of the helicopter," IRNA reported earlier.

"Currently, determination are 73 rescue teams successful the hunt country for the chopper successful the Tawal village, of which 23 Red Crescent teams (detector dogs) person been sent from Tehran and neighboring provinces to the mishap country on with precocious and specialized equipment," IRNA reported Sunday.

The upwind successful the country was atrocious connected Sunday and overnight, the exigency teams reported.

"The upwind conditions successful the country are foggy and rainy, and the hunt cognition is conducted contempt the hard conditions and reduced visibility successful the area," the Red Crescent National Emergency Management Headquarters said.

President Joe Biden was briefed connected the Iranian president's chopper incident, according to White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre connected Sunday.

The State Department was intimately pursuing reports of the incident, a spokesperson said Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday helium was sending 50 rescuers, 2 planes and 1 chopper to Iran to assistance successful the search, TASS, a Russian quality service, reported.

According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the state sent an Akinci UAV and a Cougar-type chopper with nighttime imaginativeness capableness to assistance with hunt and rescue operations.

The incidental unfolded successful the mountainous country of Kalibar and Warzghan successful cardinal Iran.

Earlier, 1 of the president's relatives told the Fars News Agency that the chopper was forced to onshore owed to foggy weather.

In an quality connected authorities TV, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed that the president's chopper made a "rough landing."

Later Sunday, a spokesperson for the Iranian authorities described the chopper incidental arsenic an "accident."

"We are experiencing hard and analyzable conditions. It is the close of the radical and the media to beryllium alert of the latest quality astir the president's chopper accident, but according to the coordinates of the mishap tract and the upwind conditions, determination is 'no' caller quality until now. In these moments, patience, supplication and spot successful alleviation groups are the mode forward," the authorities spokesperson said.

The archetypal reports of occupation with Raisi's helicopter, 1 of 3 successful a convoy carrying the Iranian officials, began to circulate connected state-affiliated media connected Sunday astatine astir 3:45 p.m. section time, oregon 8:15 a.m. ET.

Initially, 40 search-and-rescue teams had been sent to the area, the caput of the Iranian Red Crescent announced to authorities media. Though search-and-rescue craft were besides sent to the area, upwind conditions prevented them from flying, according to the Red Crescent.

Vahidi said Raisi was successful the country to assistance unfastened the Khoda Afarin and the Qiz Qalasi dams adjacent Azerbaijan and was returning location from the travel erstwhile the incidental occurred.

"One of the helicopters was forced to marque a unsmooth landing owed to atrocious upwind conditions and fog successful the area," Vahidi said.

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan who was astatine the dedication of the dams Sunday with Raisi, offered assistance from his state successful locating the helicopter.

"Today, aft bidding a affable farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the quality of a chopper carrying the apical delegation crash-landing successful Iran," Aliyev said successful a station connected the societal media tract X. "Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, person and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan stands acceptable to connection immoderate assistance needed."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ultimate person of Iran, besides issued a connection Sunday asking radical to commune that Raisi and the others are recovered safe.

"We anticipation that Almighty God volition instrumentality the respected and honorable president and his companions to the arms of the nation," Khamenei said. "Everyone should commune for the wellness of this radical of servants."