Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and other world leaders who have died in helicopter crashes

Since 1969, several presidents and prime ministers have died in helicopter crashes, the most recent being Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who died on May 19, 2024.

President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were killed when their helicopter crashed in mountainous terrain under icy weather conditions. The helicopter made a "hard landing" due to difficulties.

The commander of the president's protection unit, Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, along with several bodyguards and the helicopter crew, who remain unnamed, also perished in the crash. The wreckage was found in East Azerbaijan province.

Born on December 14, 1960, Raisi, 63, had been Iran's eighth president since 2021. His presidency was marked by strict morality laws, a severe crackdown on anti-government protests, and aggressive nuclear negotiations with world powers.

The state news agency IRNA reported that he was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter, which slammed into a mountain peak and was completely burned.

It is worth noting that Bell Helicopter also produced the Bell Huey II helicopter, the model in the crash that killed Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces, General Francis Ogolla, in April 2023.

Chile President Sebastián Piñera

Chile's President Sebastián Piñera died in a helicopter crash on February 6, 2024, while vacationing in Lago Ranco, located in the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos.

It was reported that Piñera had been on holiday with his family and had lunch with his friend, businessman José Cox, on the southern shore of Lake Ranco. The helicopter lost control just a few metres from the shore, capsizing into the lake near the Ilihue sector.

The crash occurred about 40 metres from the southern shore of Lake Ranco. Later that evening, President Gabriel Boric announced three days of national mourning and declared a state funeral.

Born on December 1, 1949, Piñera served two terms as president from 2010 to 2018 and was the first conservative leader of Chile since the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in 1990.

The late President made much of his money in the 1980s when he introduced credit cards to Chile through his company, known as Bancard. This led him to be credited with rapid economic growth during his first term.

Lebanon Prime Minister Rashid Karami

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Rashid Karami, was killed on June 1, 1987, when a bomb exploded in his Aérospatiale Puma helicopter en route to Beirut.

The bomb, weighing about 300 grammes and triggered remotely from up to 10 kilometres away, was fixed to the back of Karami's seat. It detonated shortly after takeoff from Tripoli.

Karami served as Lebanon's prime minister eight times from 1955 until his death in 1987, making him the most frequently appointed prime minister in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records 2005.

Karami was only 34 years old when he first became Prime Minister in 1955. He also served as Minister of Finance from 1958 to 1976 and Minister of Defense from 1958 to 1960, 1965, and 1975 to 1976. He also served several times as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He had a stormy relationship with Lebanon's presidents, who appointed him because of his political connections, despite substantial political differences. He was popularly known as a man for all crises because of a penchant of Lebanon's presidents to turn to him in times of major national strife or political upheaval.

Madagascar Prime Minister Joel Rakotomalala

Rakotomalala was the ninth Prime Minister of Madagascar, serving from January 11, 1976, to his death on July 30, 1976 under the presidency of Admiral Didier Ratsiraka.

He was also a member of the Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar.

He died in an accident in an Aérospatiale Alouette III transport helicopter during a short flight with the chief of staff, Alphonse Rakotonirainy. The maximum seven-seat transport helicopter, with more than 40 kilograms of luggage, took off from Antananarivo for several successive flights. It crashed at the third stage, around noon.

Bolivian President René Barrientos

Ortuño died on April 27, 1969, when his helicopter crashed in the Bolivian interior.

Born on May 30, 1919, Barrientos served twice as Bolivia's president, coming to power after the 1964 coup d'état.

Other presidents who have died in helicopter crashes include Ecuador's Jaime Roldós Aguilera, Panama’s General Omar Torrijos, Mozambique's Samora Machel, Macedonia's Boris Trajkovski, Rwanda’s Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundi's President Cyprien Ntaryamira.