All nine victims in Iranian helicopter crash identified

The helicopter wreckage carries Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the mountainous Varzaghan area. Iran's President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir Abdolahian, and several others were killed in the crash. -/Iranian State TV via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The Iranian government says that all nine people killed in Sunday's helicopter crash have now been identified.

Despite severe burns, the identities of all occupants were established on Monday, a high-ranking government representative told the Iranian news agency Tasnim. Their bodies have since been transferred to Tabriz, the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province.

State media had previously confirmed the deaths of all nine occupants of the helicopter, including president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. The chopper crashed while they were travelling back from a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

A senior imam from Tabriz who led Friday prayers in the city was on the aircraft. He was alive for about an hour after the crash and was able to contact the presidential office before succumbing to his injuries, Tasnim reported.