President Raisi’s helicopter crash tied to bad weather

KABUL (Pajhwok): The helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister in May was caused by challenging climatic and atmospheric conditions, investigators have concluded.

Raisi was killed along with seven others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in the helicopter crash in a remote mountainous area of northwestern Iran.

“The main cause of the helicopter crash was the complex climatic and atmospheric conditions of the region in the spring”, said the final report of the Supreme Board of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

State broadcaster IRIB quoted the report as saying “the sudden emergence of a a thick mass of dense and rising fog” caused the helicopter crashing into the mountain.

According to the report, there were no signs of sabotage in parts and systems. In May, Iran’s army had also said it had found no evidence of criminal activity in the crash.

Last month, Fars news agency had cited bad weather as the main reason for the May 19 crash, as well as the helicopter’s inability to ascend with two extra passengers against security protocols.

But the communications centre of the Armed Forces General Staff, responsible for publishing information on the crash investigation, said the Fars report was “completely false”.

kk/mud