Live updates: Iran President Ebrahim Raisi dead in helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan Province

CNN has confirmed the geolocation of the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the mountainous region of Varzeghan, near the village of Uzi, in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province. 

Drone footage and images of the wreckage taken by the Iranian Red Crescent and shown on state media FARS News Agency showed the crash site on a steep, tree-covered hillside.

The accident occurred as Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian were returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, state news agency IRNA reported. Seven others in the chopper also died in the crash.

The crash site is around 38 miles (61 kilometers) from the dam site on the Iran-Azerbaijan border that the officials were visiting, with the exact location at 38.7189°, 46.6548°

It was first geolocated by Nathan Ruser, an analyst on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber, Tech & Security team (ASPI CTS), which CNN later confirmed. 

The helicopter crashed while traveling to the city of Tabriz, Iran, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.