Fresh Details Emerge On Iran’s President Raisi’s Helicopter Crash, Death

Further details have emerged regarding the helicopter crash in Iran, which tragically claimed the lives of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and two local officials.

It was reported earlier that President Raisi and others were involved in the helicopter crash, which happened on Sunday, and were subsequently confirmed dead by the Iran authority.

During an interview with journalists in the country, Iran’s presidential chief of staff, Gholamhossein Esmaili, told Iran State TV that the weather conditions in the Varzaqan region, where the crash occurred, were favourable both at the beginning and for the majority of the flight, which took place the day before.

It is worth noting that Esmaili himself was aboard one of the three helicopters that were returning from a dam inauguration ceremony on Iran’s border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The helicopters departed at approximately 1 pm local time on May 19, as stated by him, with normal weather conditions prevailing in the vicinity.

Following 45 minutes into the journey, the pilot responsible for President Raisi’s convoy instructed the other helicopters to ascend in order to steer clear of an approaching cloud.

Nevertheless, the president’s helicopter, positioned amidst the two others, unexpectedly vanished.

“After 30 seconds of flying over the clouds, our pilot noticed that the helicopter in the middle had disappeared,” Esmaili said, adding that the pilot decided to circle and return to search for the president’s helicopter.

Esmail stated that despite multiple attempts to communicate with the president’s helicopter using radio devices, they were unsuccessful due to the presence of clouds, which prevented the helicopter from descending. Nonetheless, their helicopter continued its journey and eventually landed at a nearby copper mine.

Esmail further mentioned that both the foreign minister, Amirabdollahian, and the head of the president’s protection unit did not respond to repeated calls after the incident.