The bodies of Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who were killed in a helicopter crash, have been recovered. With this, the search operation in the incident of the helicopter crash has also ended. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported the information on Monday (May 20).

The crashed helicopter carrying Risi was a US-made Bell-212 model. According to the BBC, the United States has not sold any such helicopters to Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. As such, the aircraft is at least 45 years old.

The rescue operation was hampered by hostile weather despite 'locating' the helicopter

carrying Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. Due to which it took more than 18 hours to recover the body of Ibrahim Raisi.

On Sunday (May 19) the helicopter crashed near Zolfa area of East Azerbaijan province of Iran. Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and some senior officials of the country were in the helicopter. In this incident, the president of Iran, the foreign minister and all the passengers were killed.

It is known that the helicopter carrying Ibrahim Raisi was going to Tabriz, the capital

of East Azerbaijan province, after the inauguration of a reservoir project in Azerbaijan.

Immediately after the accident, 40 teams participated in the rescue of the President and his companions. Turkey and Russia also participated in the rescue operation.

Saudi Arabia expressed solidarity with Iran after the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday (May 19), saying it was ready to provide any assistance Iran needed.

Arab News reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia said that Riyadh is monitoring the incident with concern.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government said in a statement that it had ordered its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other related organizations to assist neighboring Iran in the search mission.

Iranian search and rescue teams are carrying out a rescue operation in the fog-shrouded mountains after the helicopter carrying President and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian went missing in a crash on Sunday, state media IRNA reported.

IRNA also reported that fears for Raisi grew after contact was lost with the helicopter carrying him in East Azerbaijan province.

On the other hand, Qatar has also said that it is ready to provide all kinds of support for Iran's search efforts.

The UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement that it stands by Iran and is ready to assist in efforts to find the helicopter carrying Raisi.

Turkey's foreign ministry said steps have been taken to provide all kinds of assistance in search and rescue operations.

The European Union said it had activated its rapid response mapping service to help Iran search for the helicopter.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on the Telegram messaging app, "Russia is ready to provide all necessary assistance in finding the missing helicopter and investigating the cause of the incident."

The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has been found, Reuters reported, citing the country's state television.

Al Jazeera reported that rescue and search teams have found the crashed helicopter. However, the report did not provide any details about President Raisi and other officials on board the helicopter.

Meanwhile, an official of the Iranian Red Crescent, who participated in the rescue operation of the helicopter, said that the rescue operation is still underway. Some local media reported unconfirmed reports that the crashed helicopter had been found.

Regarding Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, a journalist of the country's state television said that they have no information about finding the helicopter.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi and senior officials crashed in a mountainous area in Iran's East Azerbaijan province on Sunday (May 19).

The helicopter was carrying Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Governor of East Azerbaijan Province Malek Rahmati and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, spokesman for Iran's supreme leader in the province.

Hours after the helicopter crash, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian have not been found.

A massive search operation is underway in remote mountainous areas of Iran's East Azerbaijan province to find them. However, the rescue operation is being hampered due to hostile weather, the country's officials said.

On Sunday (May 19), President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi went to inaugurate a dam in the border area of Azerbaijan. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was also there.

From there, Ibrahim Raisi and other officials with him were returning to Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province, with a fleet of three helicopters. En route, the helicopter carrying the president crashed near the Zolfa region of East Azerbaijan. The other two helicopters reached their destination safely.

Apart from the Iranian president and foreign minister, Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Hashem, the spokesman of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in this province, were in the crashed helicopter.

As the location of the crashed helicopter could not be identified even after a few hours of the accident, there were fears whether they would be rescued alive.

An Iranian official, who did not want to be named, told AFP, "We are still optimistic." But the news coming from the accident site is very worrying. The hostile weather and heavy fog made it difficult for the rescuers to reach the crash site.

The country's Meteorological Department says that the area may experience severe weather till Monday night. An official of the local weather department said there may be rain and heavy fog overnight in the area where the helicopter carrying the president crashed. He said that such weather may remain till Monday.

Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that time is needed to identify the location of the crashed helicopter. He said, "Many rescue teams are searching for the missing helicopter. But time is needed to know where the helicopter crashed because the weather conditions there are very hostile. Along with the rain, there is heavy fog. This is disrupting the rescue work.

Quoting officials involved in the rescue operation, the local media reported that 40 rescue teams participated in the rescue operation. Rescuers are accompanied by ambulances and drones. Emergency services personnel, police and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as the military joined the search operation, the country's army chief, Mohammad Bagheri, said.

Ahmad Ali Reza Beigi, an Iranian parliamentarian elected from Tabriz, said rescuers have not yet identified the location of the crashed helicopter. Heavy rain and fog made their rescue difficult.

Iran's Tasnim media reported that an emergency phone call from the helicopter informed that the helicopter had crashed. The phone call was made by the officials accompanying the President in the helicopter. However, the connection was disconnected before the end of the conversation.

Local media reported that a massive search operation was launched after receiving the news of the helicopter crash. But the helicopter has not been found yet. Rescue work is hampered due to rain and fog.

Iran's Fars news agency reported that in the darkness of the night, nothing can be seen even five meters away in the inaccessible mountainous area. Due to this, the rescue workers are facing a lot of complications.

The cabinet members of the country held an emergency meeting in the situation. After the meeting, the Vice President and some ministers went to Tabriz. IRGC chief Hossein Salami went to the accident site to speed up the rescue operation. He held meetings with various levels of commanders, ministers and local officials of IRGC.

Many other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq, have expressed concern over the crash of the helicopter carrying Ibrahim Raisi. Turkey has sent a 32-member rescue team to assist in the rescue operation. These rescue workers are especially skilled in mountain rescue operations.