Iranian President was travelling in US-made Bell-212 helicopter

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Syyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several top officials crashed on May 19, resulting in the tragic loss of all lives on board. 

"President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and a group of officials accompanying them were martyred in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran," the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said in a statement.

East Azarbaijan Province’s Governor Malek Rahmati, the head of Raisi’s guard team Mehdi Mousavi and Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, the Supreme Leader’s representative in the East Azerbaijan province, were also onboard helicopter.

The 63-year-old politician was in Azerbaijan on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with the host country's president Ilham Aliyev. 

After the event, Raisi and his entourage departed in a convoy of three choppers to inaugurate another project.

However, Raisi's helicopter lost contact shortly after taking off.

"At around 1 pm, the president left Tabriz to inaugurate two projects, but the helicopter lost contact shortly after leaving," the head of the search and rescue teams, Mohsen Mansouri told the media.

"Three helicopters left Tabriz, but, half an hour later, two lost contact with the one carrying the president," he added.

All you need to know about Bell-212 chopper:

The Bell 212 helicopter, developed in the late 1960s, is a reliable and versatile aircraft widely used for transportation and other purposes.

The helicopter's new design features two turboshaft engines, allowing it to carry up to 15 people, including the pilot. Its capabilities extend beyond transportation, with uses in firefighting, cargo transport, and military operations.

According to US military training documents, the new design was introduced in 1971 and quickly adopted by both the United States and Canada.

However, this tragic incident marks the latest fatal crash of a Bell-212 helicopter, following a similar incident in September 2023 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Iranian model that crashed was configured for government transport and had been in use despite challenges in acquiring aircraft spare parts due to sanctions from European countries. 

But, the Bell-212 remains in service with many organisations, including the Iranian Air Force and Navy, which operate a total of 10 choppers. 

However, the Bell-212 came at the centre of controversy as netizens believed that the United States and Israel were involved in the killing of the Iranian President.

Social media users said that the plan to crash the helicopter was orchestrated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US President Joe Biden.

On the other hand, Iran's state media said that the helicopter went down due to bad weather while returning from the opening ceremony of a dam.