Tue, Sep 03, 2024
No Signs of Foul-Play Found in the Investigation
An investigation into former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s fatal helicopter crash named dense fog and other harsh atmospheric conditions as the accident’s cause.
The accident occurred around 13:30 GMT on May 19. The Bell 212, which was one of 10 owned by the Iranian military, went down in the remote mountains of northwest Iran. It was escorted by two others en route from the Giz Galasi Dam to Tabriz.
The helicopter had seven on board, which were all later confirmed dead. This included Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor-General of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati, representative of the supreme leader in East Azerbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the head of the president's security team, and three other flight crew members.
Iranian state TV reported that the helicopter had made a so-called “hard landing” while enduring heavy fog and rain. Several rescue teams attempted to navigate into the area and locate the rotorcraft, but the weather and terrain slowed them down. The wreckage wasn’t spotted until around 05:00 GMT the next day, and it took rescuers another hour to reach the scene.
The country was left in a leadership limbo for a few tense days. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, declared five days of mourning and named top-elected Mohammad Mokhber as interim president.
Iran offered no immediate cause, but later reports from the Supreme Board of the General Staff of the Armed Forces blamed complex climatic conditions in the region. It referenced a mass of dense rising fog over the area, obscuring the crew’s view and ultimately leading to the crash.
The investigation team assured that there were no signs of sabotage to the helicopter’s parts or systems.
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