By Ramadhan Abbey
Tehran
Tears, mixt reactions engulfed thousands of Iranian people who turned up to pay last respect to the late President Ibrahim Raisi and others killed in helicopter crash on Sunday.
President Raisi perished alongside with other officials including Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister, Malik Rahmati, governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, representative of the Iranian supreme leader to East Azerbaijan and Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, head of Raisi’s guard team and others suffered a hard landing on Sunday while returning from Azerbaijan
The tragic incident happened in Dizmar forest, located between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province, where the aircraft had a “rough landing” in heavy fog
The funeral service that took place at Tehran University, was presided over by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader.
In his few words ,Khamenei said “Oh Allah, we didn’t see anything but good from him,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in the standard prayer for the dead in Arabic.
Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, stood nearby and openly wept during the service.
People then carried the coffins out on their shoulders, with chants of “Death to America” heard outside.
They loaded them onto a trailer for a procession through downtown Tehran to Azadi Square, where Raisi gave speeches in the past.
In attendance were top leaders of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one of the country’s major power centers.
In Tehran Thousands of people from different City marched through the streets of the Tehran, shops and others business were closed as the Country mourns their leaders
Transportation were free of charge either using a bus or train to whoever want to go and pay the last respect all over the country.
About the Burial arrangement
According to the burial arraignment, Raisi’s body and others started in City of Tabriz where the incident happened, then proceeded to the Holy City of Qom
Today Wednesday, the body was at Tehran University for funeral service and then Azade Tower where hundreds of people paid last respect to them.
The president’s body will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine in the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday, the only imam of the Shiite faith buried in Iran.
Iranian President Mohammad-Ali Rajai, the only other president to die in office when he was killed in a 1981 bombing, was buried in Tehran.
Cause of the crash
The helicopter involved in the Crash on Sunday was a Bell 212, a two-blade aircraft capable of carrying 15 people. However, the two remaining choppers accompanying the president’s helicopter made a safe return.
Along with Iran, the Azerbaijan government is also conducting an investigation at the crash site to examine if weather checks were made before the decision to fly was taken. So far, there have been no serious allegations of sabotage and still weather is considered as the main villain.