Iran probe finds Raisi helicopter crash caused by weather

TEHRAN: Iran´s investigation into the May helicopter crash that killed president Ebrahim Raisi has found it was caused by bad weather and overloading, Iranian media said on Wednesday citing an official.

The helicopter carrying 63-year-old Raisi and his entourage came down on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran, killing the president and seven others, and triggering snap elections.

Fars news agency, quoting an informed security source with knowledge of the conclusions of the probe, said Iranian security forces had “absolute certainty that what happened was an accident”.

Iran´s army in May similarly said it had found no evidence of criminal activity in the crash that also killed Raisi´s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

“The case of the crash of Ayatollah Raisi´s helicopter has been fully completed by the regulatory and security institutions,” Fars reported.

“The security and intelligence agencies have completed their detailed investigations and there is absolute certainty that what happened was an accident,” it added, quoting the source.

Fars gave the main causes of the May 19 crash as bad weather conditions and the helicopter´s inability to ascend with extra passengers beyond security protocols.

The chopper was carrying two passengers beyond the recommended capacity when it crashed, the probe found. It ruled out the possibility of “jamming and hacking of electronic systems”, Fars said, also nothing that “no signs of chemical agents and harmful substances were found”.