The President of Iran has died along with his companions, Iranian state media announced on Monday morning following hours of extensive search for his crashed helicopter.

President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan province Governor Malek Rahmati, and the head of the president’s guard team Mehdi Mousavi.

The helicopter carrying the Iranian President and his companions, had an accident in the Jolfa region of East Azerbaijan province on Sunday.

Dozens of rescue teams from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and neighboring countries were in search for the helicopter for hours with no avail due to bad weather conditions in the area.

The Iranian government on Monday morning commenced an emergency meeting following the announcement of Raisi’s death.

Raisi and members of his cabinet were on the way back to Tehran from Azerbaijan when his helicopter, one of three helicopters carrying the delegation, was reported to have had a hard landing.

A video released by the Iranian Red Crescent and photos released by Iranian state media showed the location in which Raisi’s helicopter crashed.

#BREAKING: #Iran's Red Crescent distributes video of a screen showing the missing #helicopter carrying #President Ebrahim #Raisi#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/G2H9gszcsd

— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 20, 2024

In light of Raisi’s death, the Iranian constitution dictates that the country holds elections within 50 days.

Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will assume the presidency in the meantime. 

IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Esmail Qaani and Vice President Mohsen Mansouri were among the first people to declare the President dead on Monday morning.

The Iranian government will continue to operate "without the slightest disruption" following the death of Raisi in a helicopter crash, the Iranian government stated in statement on Monday.

Raisi became the President of Iran in 2021, in an election that recorded less than 50 percent turnout.

The late President was known for being a key figure in the assassination of around 5,000 political prisoners across the country in 1988 upon the order of Ayatollah Khomeini.