First investigative report on President Raisi’s helicopter accident is released by Iran

24 May, Tehran The first report on the circumstances of the recent chopper accident that claimed the lives of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions was made public by the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces.

The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces said on Friday that a top inquiry team made up of specialists, experts, and technicians arrived at the location early on Monday morning in the wake of the disaster. This information was cited by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The assessment stated that the helicopter had not diverted from the flight path and had continued on its intended track the whole way.

The investigation said that the pilot of the downed helicopter had spoken with the other two aircraft in the President’s convoy around fifteen minutes prior to the event.

It also said, as reported by the Xinhua news agency, that no evidence of gunshots or other such objects had been found on the wreckage of the downed aircraft.

It was reported that the aircraft had caught fire after colliding with the mountain.

The report said that “at 5 a.m. local time on Monday, with the assistance of drones, the exact location of the incident was identified.” It mentioned that “complications of the region, fog, and low temperature” had forced the search and rescue efforts to continue until dark and then into the night.

It also said that no questionable matters had come up in the watchtower’s interactions with the flying crew.

It said that further information would be released after more research.

On Sunday, Raisi’s chopper crashed into hilly terrain when he and his group were traveling to the province of East Azerbaijan.

The chopper also carried Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the Iranian Supreme Leader’s envoy to East Azerbaijan, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Raisi was buried on Thursday in his birthplace of Mashhad, in the northeastern city dedicated to Imam Reza.