Iranian state media on Monday said President Ebrahim Raisi died after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country.

Rescue teams had been scouring the area since Sunday afternoon after a helicopter carrying Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials had gone missing.

Early Monday, relief workers located the missing helicopter, with state TV saying the president had died.

"The servant of Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people," state television said on Monday, with Mehr news agency also saying he was dead.

State television broadcast photos of Raisi, with the voice of a man reciting the Koran playing in the background.

Iran's vice president for executive affairs Mohsen Mansouri posted on X a Koranic verse used to express condolences.

Rescue teams had fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday.

A Turkish drone had identified a source of heat suspected to be the helicopter's wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news agency said earlier on X. Iranian state news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.

China had earlier said it was "deeply concerned" about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after his helicopter went down.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.

The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations.

Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country. (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2024-05-20 HKT 13:17