After approximately 16 hours since the crash of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi's helicopter in a rugged area near the Azerbaijan border in East Azerbaijan Province, northwest Iran, due to bad weather and dense fog, rescue teams were able to spot the wreckage and reach the vicinity. The head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Kolivand, confirmed to state television that rescue teams found the crash site but emphasized that "the situation is not good." He clarified that only two kilometers separate the search teams from the helicopter that was carrying 9 officials, including the president himself.
Another Iranian official remarked that the prospects of Raisi surviving are slim, noting that the helicopter was completely burned. This came after a Turkish drone of the Akıncı model detected two heat sources on Monday, one of which is believed to be from the helicopter wreckage.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami stated that one of the detected heat sources is thought to be the wreckage of the helicopter that was carrying the president and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, along with other officials. The Red Crescent indicated that rescue teams were sent to the two heat sources after their detection during the search, adding that there are over 70 rescue teams near the crash site.
The helicopter, which included Raisi, 63, who previously led the judiciary, the Foreign Minister, East Azerbaijan Governor Malik Rahmati, Friday Prayer Leader of Tabriz Mohammad Ali Hashimi, and other companions, crashed in the Arasbaran forests near the village of "Uzi" amid dense fog, which complicated rescue teams' access to the site. Weather conditions also prevented rescue helicopters from landing at the scene of the incident.
