Preliminary report says no evidence of criminal activity but investigators signal the probe is not yet over
Iranian military investigators have found no evidence of criminal activity in the helicopter crash that killed late President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, according to state media.
A preliminary report by the general staff of the armed forces indicated that the helicopter had "caught fire after hitting an elevated area," and found no traces of "bullet holes" on the wreckage, as reported by the official IRNA news agency on Thursday. The report also confirmed that Raisi’s helicopter had been flying on a "pre-planned route and did not leave the designated flight path" before the crash on Sunday.
"No suspicious content was observed during the communications between the watch tower and the flight crew," the report added.
The final communication between the president’s helicopter and two accompanying helicopters was recorded about a minute and a half before the crash, according to a statement from the general staff of the armed forces, broadcast on state television Thursday night.
The wreckage was found in Iran’s mountainous northwest by Iranian drones early on Monday. The "complexity of the area, fog, and low temperature" hindered the efforts of search and rescue teams.
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| Rescue teams worked a day after the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan province, Iran [Stringer/WANA |
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