Tehran on reasons for crash of helicopter carrying country's President

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has released the preliminary report of the commission investigating the causes of the helicopter crash that killed the country's President Ibrahim Raisi on 19 May.

According to the commission's conclusion, which is published by the IRNA news agency, the helicopter did not deviate from its route until one and a half minutes before the crash and maintained communications with two other helicopters. There was nothing suspicious in the negotiations with the dispatchers. The wreckage of the helicopter showed no signs of shelling.

Iranian Presidential Chief of Staff Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, who was in the other helicopter accompanying Ebrahim Raisi, said that as it approached the Sungun copper mine, communication with the President's helicopter was lost.

The second helicopter returned and made several circles but did not locate the President's helicopter. Attempts to contact the President in the helicopter failed.

Later, the imam of Tabriz city, Al-Hashem, could be reached and said that the helicopter had fallen into a gorge. He could not explain what had happened except that the helicopter had fallen.  The imam was contacted for three hours, then stopped responding, the head of the Presidential administration said.