Iranian military says Raisi’s helicopter caught fire shortly after crash and there were no signs of attack

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The helicopter carrying late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi caught fire shortly after crashing into a mountain and there was no sign it was attacked, state media reported State, citing military accident investigators.

The statement from the general staff of the armed forces responsible for investigating the accident was read Thursday evening on state television. The initial statement on the accident did not assign blame, but said more details would be provided after further investigation.

Sunday’s crash killed Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and six others.

The headquarters press release specifies that communications between the control tower and the helicopter crew before the crash did not contain anything suspicious. The last communication between the crashed helicopter and the two accompanying helicopters took place approximately 90 seconds before the accident.

There were no signs of shooting on the helicopter and its flight path did not change, the statement said.

The aging Bell helicopter crashed Sunday in a mountainous and foggy region of northwest Iran. The crash site was discovered Monday morning and all eight people on board were dead.

Raisi was buried Thursday in a tomb at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

The Associated Press