Iranian Rescue Teams Locate Crash Site of President Raisi’s Helicopter

New Delhi, May 20, 2024: Search teams have located the crash site of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, according to state TV. Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of Iran's Red Crescent Society, confirmed the discovery but described the situation as "not good."

Speaking to a national TV reporter on Monday morning, Kolivand provided no further details but emphasized the grim condition at the site. Earlier, the Red Crescent’s National Emergency Management Headquarters announced that its teams were en route to two identified hot spots detected by a Turkish drone. Turkey's high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, Akinji, had identified a heat source believed to be the crash site.

A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps confirmed that the detected heat source was likely the wreckage of the helicopter. Field sources also announced that the precise geographical coordinates of President Raisi’s helicopter had been determined through aerial monitoring.

Despite adverse weather conditions, rescuers worked tirelessly around the clock to locate the missing helicopter carrying the Iranian President and his delegation in northwestern Iran. Rescue teams, including armed forces, combed the rocky and hilly terrain near the city of Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan Province, battling foggy and rainy weather.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) had earlier dispatched additional groups to aid in the search. "Forty-six rapid response and rescue teams from the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Tehran, Alborz, Ardabil, Zanjan, and West Azerbaijan were mobilized for the search and rescue operation," the IRCS reported.

President Raisi was returning with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several others from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran’s border with the Azerbaijan Republic when the helicopter crashed upon landing in the Varzaqan region on Sunday.