CNBC-TV18.com
Published May 21, 2024
By Vivek Dubey
A Bell 212 helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister crashed on Sunday in mountain fog, state media reported. The crash claimed the lives of both officials.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and, under the usual timetable, a presidential election had been due to take place in 2025. Under constitutional rules, it can now be expected to take place by early July.
A one-day state mourning will be observed across India on Tuesday as a mark of respect for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, the Union Home Ministry has announced.
Developed in the late 1960s for the Canadian military, the Bell 212 is an upgraded version of the UH-1 Iroquois with two turboshaft engines, offering greater capacity.
Designed as a versatile utility helicopter, the Bell 212 is used for transporting people, aerial firefighting, cargo transport, and weapon mounting. It can carry 15 people including the crew.
Designed as a versatile utility helicopter, the Bell 212 is used for transporting people, aerial firefighting, cargo transport, and weapon mounting. It can carry 15 people including the crew.
Iran, once a major purchaser of Bell helicopters, has fleet including the Agusta Bell AB-212. The crashed helicopter was linked to the Islamic Republic Red Crescent Society and may be 40-50 years old.
A fatal Bell 212 crash occurred in September 2023 off the UAE coast. Iran's last Bell 212 crash was in 2018, killing four. Another crash near Kashan in 2015 resulted in three deaths.
Despite isolation since 1979, Iran maintains its aviation fleet through smuggled parts and reverse-engineering. PANHA, its state-owned service, re-engineers Bell aircraft models, though not the 212.
As a domestic state flight, the accident does not automatically fall under global rules for air accident probes.