Authorities reveal new data about the accident of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

Published at: 21/05/2024 10:03 PM

The chief of staff Qolam Hosein Esmaili, of the late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, released new data on the moments before the accident in which the Head of State, together with the foreign minister and other government officials, lost his life last Sunday, May 19, on a helicopter flight, reported the official Iranian agency IRNA.

In an interview with a television program, Hosein Esmaili, specified that around 1:00pm, there was good, clear weather and without any special weather phenomenon, “the flight to Tabriz began”.

“After 45 minutes of flying, a cloud in the form of a spot was observed and after 30 seconds of continuing the flight above the clouds, our pilot noticed that the president's helicopter disappeared.”

Hosein Esmaili explained that “since the helicopter did not climb, our pilot immediately turned around and returned. I asked him why you came back. He said that the president's helicopter had not come up; it was decided to turn around and find them. We too, in this part that was cloudy, could not see the ground below us, it was not possible to return under the clouds, no matter how hard we tried to establish radio communication, it was not possible. A minute or two later, we landed at the Songoon copper mine and continued searching.”

He said that “we tried to call the foreign minister and the security chief, but none of them answered.”

“The flight crew said they had called Captain Mostafavi, who answered and said that it wasn't right and that they had fallen into a valley and didn't mention anything in particular. Then I called with the same phone and the Leader's representative in the province, Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, answered. I asked him how he was doing, and he said that he wasn't well and that he was in pain and that they had fallen between the trees. I asked about the other companions, he said that he didn't see any and that there was no one near him, and that the forest was dense,” he said.

Continuing with the account of the events, he stated that “the rescue teams immediately went to the area that we had estimated as the site of the accident. Later, when we were able to find the scene of the accident, the condition of the bodies showed that the President and the other companions had lost their lives immediately, but Ale-Hashem lost his life after a few hours.”

Mazo News Team