No bullet traces found on hull of Iran's crashed presidential helicopter

No traces of bullets were found on the hull of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, which crashed earlier this week, according to a statement released by the Iranian General Staff's public relations center.

"No traces of bullets or similar objects were found on the hull of the crashed helicopter," the IRIB television channel quoted the statement as saying.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran said it was publishing preliminary findings of the investigation into the fatal accident that claimed the president's life, but "it can be said with certainty" that bullets were not involved.

Iranian General Staff publishes preliminary findings of investigation into presidential helicopter crash.

Iranian president's helicopter caught fire only after crashing into mountain

The hull of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi caught fire only after crashing into a mountain, according to a statement released by the Iranian General Staff's public relations center.

"It can be said with certainty that...the crashed helicopter caught fire only after hitting an elevation," the IRIB television channel quoted the statement as saying.

After the crash, the pilot managed to "establish contact with the pilots of two more helicopters," transporting other members of the presidential delegation.

The search "continued through the night due to fog, cold weather and rough terrain."

Eventually, the crash site was located "by an Iranian drone at 5:00 a.m. local time [1:30 a.m. GMT] on Monday."