DUBAI: The helicopter crash that killed Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi in May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft's inability to withstand the weight it was carrying, Iran's semi-official news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a security source briefed on the final results of the investigation.
The communications center of the Armed Forces General Staff, which is responsible for publishing information about the investigation into the crash, said the report was “completely false,” state media reported.
A preliminary Iranian military report in May said no evidence of foul play or attack had been found during the investigation.
“The investigation into the case of the crash of Ayatollah Raisi's helicopter has been completed… there is full certainty that what happened was an accident,” the security source, who was not identified, told Fars.
Two reasons for the crash were identified: weather conditions were not suitable and the helicopter could not bear the weight, causing it to crash into a mountain, the source added, according to Fars.
The investigation indicates that the helicopter was carrying two more people than the capacity allowed by security protocols, the source told Fars.
Raisi, once a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died in the crash in mountainous terrain near the border with Azerbaijan.
