Iran President Ebrahim Raisi declared dead, body found near crash area

The head of the Islamic Republic Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has announced that the dead bodies of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions are being transported to Tabriz, northwest Iran.

The large-scale search and rescue operation ended as the dead bodies were sent to a place in East Azarbaijan province where the martyrs of Tabriz are buried, Pir Hossein Kolivand said in televised remarks on Monday.

Ebrahim Raisi, the eighth president of Iran, has been martyred after a helicopter carrying him and his entourage crashed in the Varzaqan region in the northwest province of East Azarbaijan on Sunday.

Elaborating on the latest situation of the search and rescue operation, Kolivand said the IRCS expert teams were present in the area as of yesterday but the bad weather and the heavy fog hindered the search process.

Finally, early on Monday, the rescue teams managed to find the scene of the incident, the official added.