The helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died

The helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died continues to generate many doubts, political movements and the future of the Middle East.

So far, the cause of the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran, died is considered to be a “technical failure”, the state agency IRNA reported on Monday, May 20, while Tehran created a commission to investigate the cause of the accident.

“Raisi died on Sunday, May 19, in a helicopter crash due to a technical failure while traveling from the Khoda Afarin Dam to the Tabriz oil refinery,” the state media reported.

However, it did not provide further information regarding the causes of the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died, which occurred in the mountainous area of the Varzeqan region of East Azerbaijan province.

The stricken helicopter was a twin-engine, 15-person U.S. Bell 212, purchased in 1970, according to the Hamshahri daily.

Iran has an old fleet of aircraft and helicopters as it has not had easy access to new models since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

In this sense, it is almost a general conclusion that the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died was due to a technical problem.

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Who were accompanying Ebrahim Raisi?

Also killed in the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died were Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdolahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malik Rahmati, Tabriz city Friday prayers leader Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem, in addition to two pilots of the aircraft, a flight attendant, the head of presidential security and a guard.

At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohamad Hosein Baqeri, said that “a high-ranking commission has been set up to investigate the causes of the crash,” Iran’s Tasn agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, reported.

The helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died

The crash of the helicopter in which Ebrahim Raisi and his companions died disappeared on Sunday, May 19, while returning from Tabriz along with two other aircraft, which arrived safely at their destination.

By that time, the official Iranian media reported at the time that it had suffered a “crash landing”, without explaining the causes.

The crash of the helicopter in which Ebrahim Raisi died

The crash of the helicopter in which Ebrahim Raisi and his companions died disappeared on Sunday, May 19, when it was returning from Tabriz along with two other aircraft, which arrived safely at their destination.

By that time, Iranian official media reported then that it had suffered a “crash landing”, without explaining the causes.

Following the loss of contact, an extensive rescue operation with at least 65 rescue teams was launched in the mountainous area of the Varzeqan region of East Azerbaijan province, but operations were affected by bad weather, rain and dense fog.

Following the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi died, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Monday, May 20, approved the appointment of First Vice President Mohamad Mojber as the country’s interim president and declared five days of national mourning for the death of Raisi and his companions.

According to the Constitution, Iran must hold presidential elections within 50 days.

Regarding the helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi Raisi died, it is learned that the leader traveled on Sunday morning to the remote province of East Azerbaijan, on Iran’s northwestern border, to lead the inauguration of the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams, a joint hydroelectric power project with neighboring Azerbaijan on the Aras River.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took part in the ceremony and said he had bid a friendly farewell to Raisi before the helicopter left the area and flew to Tabriz, a city 130 kilometers south of Iran.

The helicopter crashed around 13:30 local time in a remote mountainous area about 58 kilometers south of the Qiz Qalasi dam and 2 kilometers southwest of the village of Uzi, according to Iranian officials and photographs published by state media.

However, it was not until after 16:00 local time that Iranian state television reported that the helicopter in which the president was traveling had experienced what it called a “crash landing” while flying to Tabriz, amid dense fog and rain.