Iran President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead after being involved in a helicopter crash on Sunday in a mountainous and forested area of the country following poor weather.

The deadly crash occurred in the North-western part of Iran.

Also in the the helicopter were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian among 7 other occupants, all who have been confirmed dead.

“President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters, requesting not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The Vice President Mohsen Monsourio also confirmed the president’s death through a statement he shared on social media as well as on the country’s national broadcaster, State TV.

According to the country’s local media, Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the north west of Iran, after returning from the border with Azerbaijan, where he opened the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams.

The helicopter was one of three travelling in a convoy. Initial reports indicate that the aircraft made a hard landing after encountering difficulties.

State TV said images showed it had smashed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash. Drone footage appeared to show the tail of the helicopter and scattered debris.

“President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash,” Reuters reported.

The wreckage was found after a search that took more than 12 hours.

Raisi, 63, was elected as Iranian president in 2021 and was a “frontrunner to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader.”

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