India observes one day state mourning to honour Ebrahim Raisi
The Union Home Ministry has stated that a day of official state mourning will be held across India on Tuesday in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash.
The national flag will be displayed at half-mast on all buildings where it is normally flown throughout India, and there will be no official entertainment during the period of state mourning.
Iran’s president, foreign minister, and several other officials were discovered dead on Monday, hours after their chopper crashed in a foggy, hilly region of the country’s northwest, Iran state television claimed.
Also read: AAP received Rs 7.08 crore foreign funds from 2014-2022, says ED
A home ministry spokesperson confirmed that Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Hossein Amit-Abdollahian, the country’s foreign minister, died in a helicopter crash.
“As a mark of respect to the departed dignitaries, the government of India has decided that there will be one day’s state mourning on May 21 (Tuesday) throughout India,” the spokesperson said.
“On the day of mourning, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India on all buildings where the national flag is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment on the day,” the official added.
Also read: ‘I was and I am a member of….’: Retiring Calcutta high court judge in his farewell speech
PM Modi mourns Raisi’s death
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated he was “deeply saddened and shocked by Raisi’s tragic death,” and that “India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow.”
“Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran,” wrote on his X account.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed astonishment at Raisi’s and his Iranian counterpart’s deaths.
Also read: Four suspected ISIS terrorists from Sri Lanka nabbed at Ahmedabad airport
Ebrahim Raisi’s chopper crash
On Sunday, a Bell 212 helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed near the Azerbaijani border in the country’s mountainous northwest.
The 63-year-old Iranian President was returning from the Iran-Azerbaijan border after inaugurating a joint dam project when the helicopter carrying him, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, and senior cleric Ayatollah Al-Hashem crashed near Varzaghan around 1 p.m. (local time).
