Helicopter crash kills Iran President, Foreign Minister

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were confirmed dead after their helicopter crashed in a foggy mountain region.

Details:

Crashed Helicopter: Bell 212 helicopter
Helicopter crash site- Varzaghan of Iran.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber as interim leader until elections on June 28.
Ali Bagheri was named Acting Foreign Minister.

Fatal crashes involving very very important persons (VVIPs):

On June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, died while piloting his aircraft at Safdarjung Airport in Delhi.
On September 2, 2009, a Bell helicopter crash claimed the life of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
On April 30, 2011, a helicopter carrying Dorjee Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, crashed.
On December 8, 2021, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and his entourage died in an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter crash near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
On April 10, 2010, the aircraft carrying the President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Maria, crashed in fog killing 96 people.

Bell 212 helicopter:

The Bell 212 is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968.
Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in 1988, along with all Bell commercial helicopter production after that plant opened in 1986.
The 212 was marketed to civilian operators and has up to a 15-seat capacity, with one pilot and fourteen passengers.

About Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi:

Born on 14 December 1960 to a clerical family in the Noghan district of Mashhad.
Ebrahim Raisolsadati served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until his death in 2024.
A Principlist and a Muslim jurist, he became president after the 2021 election.
Raisi served in several positions in Iran’s judicial system.
Raisi was criticized for his role in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners; United Nations special rapporteurs and other organizations accused him of crimes against humanity.
Raisi’s presidency saw deadlock in negotiations with the U.S. over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
During Raisi’s term, Iran intensified uranium enrichment, hindered international inspections, and supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

Source: TH