A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the foreign minister, and other dignitaries allegedly crashed in Iran's mountainous northwest on Sunday, forcing a massive rescue attempt in a foggy forest. The public was encouraged to pray for their protection. Raisi and the other passengers were missing on monday morning, more than 12 hours after the alleged collision. Turkish drone footage revealed that the chopper crashed in the mountains, and rescuers rushed to the scene.
 
"No survivors" were discovered at the crash site of the chopper carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollhian, Iranian state television said Monday.
 
"Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet," according to state television.
 
After hours of searching across steep terrain in harsh weather, rescuers discovered the wrecked chopper, which was nearly completely damaged. "President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash," a source told Reuters.
 
On Sunday, the helicopter crashed in Jolfa, located in the country's hilly northern area. The incident occurred when Raisi and others were returning from a visit to Iran's border with Azerbaijan.
 
If Iran's supreme Leader Ayatollah ali Khamenei approves, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will be next in line for the president.
 
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• State-run IRNA broadcast footage early on monday showing the alleged crash location of the President's chopper, located across a steep valley in a green mountain range. Soldiers speaking in the native tongue said, "There it is, we found it." Shortly after, state television claimed, "There is no sign of life from people onboard."

• According to CNN, the chopper carried nine persons, including Raisi, Abdollahian, three Iranian officials, an imam, and flight and security team members. Malek Rahmati, the governor of Eastern azerbaijan province, was one of the three officials present.

• search operations proceeded throughout the night and into the day on monday to find the accident site in east azerbaijan province, despite challenging weather conditions including dense fog and cold.

• According to The Telegraph, one of Turkey's 'Akinci' drones, which was dispatched to assist with rescue operations, detected a "source of heat suspected to be wreckage" of the helicopter. According to Iranian media, a fire was discovered, and rescuers were dispatched to the 'Tavil' neighborhood. The Turkish drone had given its location to Iranian officials.

• Aside from Turkey, russia intends to send special planes and 50 trained mountain rescuers to the accident site to assist in the search operation. According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, two special Russian helicopters will be flown to the location from Armenia. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment.
 
 
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20/05/2024 09:35 AM