Iran releases first report on President Raisi's death, reveals pilot 'contacted...'

The first investigative report on the fatal helicopter crash which led to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the officials who had accompanied himwas releasedby the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces.

According to the report, the helicopter throughout itsjourney flew on its predetermined course and did not deviate from the flight route, reported the semi-official Tasnim news agency

It also said that that no suspicious issues in the conversations between the flight crew and the watchtower was reported.

No traces of bulletsfoundinwreckage

As per the report, nearly one and a half minutes before the crash, the helicopter's pilot had tried establishing contact with the other two helicopterswhichwere part of the same convoy.

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As per Xinhua news agency, the report further clarified that no traces of bullets or any other such itemswere foundin the wreckage of the crashed helicopter.

After the helicopter crashed in the mountain, it caught fire, the report said.

Because of the "complications of the region, fog, and low temperature"the search and rescue operations continued till nightfall and then throughout the night, said the report, adding, "at 5 am local time on Monday, with the assistance of drones,the exact location of the incident was identified."

Thereport said that the investigators did not find any suspicious issues in the conversations between the flight crew and the watchtower, it said.

It added that more details will surface after further investigations.

Watch:Ebrahim Raisi Funeral: Raisi led to rest at Imam Reza holy shrine

Raisi, along with his entourage, were headed to East Azerbaijan province when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area on Sunday (May 19).

PresidentRaisiwas accompaniedby Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of Iran's Supreme Leader to East Azerbaijan.

On Thursday (May 23), the presidentwas laidto rest in the holy shrine of ImamReza,which ishis hometown in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

(With inputs from agencies)