Iran’s military says Raisi’s helicopter caught fire shortly after the crash and there was no sign of an attack

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The helicopter carrying Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi caught fire soon after it broke on a mountain and there was no sign that he had been attacked, state media reported, citing military investigators of the accident.

The statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces in charge of investigating the accident was read on state television on Thursday night. The first statement about the accident did not assign blame but said more details would come after further investigation.

Sunday’s accident killed Raisithe country foreign minister and six other people.

The General Staff statement said communications between the control tower and the helicopter crew before the crash contained nothing suspicious. He said the last communication from the crashed helicopter was between him and two helicopters accompanying him about 90 seconds before the crash.

There was no sign of any gunfire targeting the helicopter and its flight path did not change, the statement said.

The old Bell helicopter crashed in a remote and foggy mountainous region of northwestern Iran on Sunday. The crash site was discovered on Monday morning, with all eight on board dead.

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