Crashed Chopper Belonged to IRGC

A helicopter that crashed in the Caspian Sea on Sunday was a Mil Mi-17 chopper belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Aerospace Force, and four of the five victims were servicemen, an IRGC spokesman announced. According to the head of IRGC’s Public Relations Department, Ramezan Sharif, the IRGC helicopter was at the disposal of Khazar Exploration and Production Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, Tasnim News Agency reported.  “The aircraft was dispatched to Amir Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig in the Caspian Sea, 20 kilometers off the port of Amirabad, at around 4:30 a.m. local time, to rescue an employee suffering from a heart attack,” he explained. “After picking up the individual, the helicopter began to fly back to shore, but crashed shortly after takeoff and descended into the sea, killing all five people on board.” Sharif noted that the oil company’s worker and four IRGC servicemen, all colonels, lost their lives in the crash. The general said the cause of the incident is under investigation. Amir Kabir is the first Iranian facility for the extraction of oil and gas from the Caspian Sea.