Drone footage shows wreckage of Iran President Raisi's chopper at crash site, Iranians offer prayers (WATCH)
By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published May 20, 2024, 9:52 AM ISTPir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, informed state media that rescuers spotted the helicopter from a distance of about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) as the sun rose on Monday.
Rescuers located a helicopter on Monday that had been carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister, and other officials, which had seemingly crashed in the mountainous northwest of Iran the previous day. State media reported that "no sign of life" was detected.
Video of an Iranian Search-and-Rescue Team using a drone to look closely at the crash site of the helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi.
iran cumhurbaşkanı reisi | iran kızılayı
Video Credits: pic.twitter.com/ahT4iPvjYJ
Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, informed state media that rescuers spotted the helicopter from a distance of about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) as the sun rose on Monday. He did not provide further details, and the officials had been missing for over 12 hours by that time.
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The incident occurs amidst significant tension in Iran. Under President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country recently launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also been grappling with years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy due to an ailing economy and issues concerning women’s rights. This makes the current moment highly sensitive for Tehran, especially as the Israel-Hamas war escalates tensions in the wider Middle East.
Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV reported a "hard landing" near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, approximately 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran. Later reports placed the incident farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remain contradictory.
Alongside Raisi were Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan province, other officials, and bodyguards, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. While one local official described the event as a "crash," others referred to it as either a "hard landing" or an "incident."
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in a remote area, which they suspected to be the wreckage of the helicopter. The coordinates from the footage placed the fire about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iran border on a steep mountainside.
Footage released by the IRNA early Monday depicted what the agency identified as the crash site, located across a steep valley in a green mountain range. In the footage, soldiers speaking in the local Azeri language said, "There it is, we found it."
🚨🇮🇷 Drone Footage showing an image of the Crash Site of the Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s and other top officials Helicopter which Crashed yesterday.
Read More: https://t.co/kU31zQQu9h pic.twitter.com/zpRHuSHHEJ
The new drone footage showed the of ’s President completely destroyed and no sign of any survival
pic.twitter.com/LzyC2Hxjik
Shortly after, state TV displayed on-screen scrolling text stating, "There is no sign of life from people on board." The report did not provide further details, but the semiofficial Tasnim news agency showed rescuers using a small drone to survey the site. In their conversation, they confirmed the absence of life. The footage revealed the helicopter's tail and charred debris scattered around the crash site.
Akinci UAV identifies source of heat suspected to be wreckage of helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi and shares its coordinates with Iranian authorities pic.twitter.com/0tZtMc5oaP
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency)Hard-liners urged the public to pray for those on board. State TV broadcast images of hundreds of faithful individuals, some with hands outstretched in supplication, praying at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. The main channel of state television aired the prayers continuously.
In Tehran, a group of men knelt on the side of the street, clasping strands of prayer beads and watching a video of Raisi praying, with some visibly weeping. "If anything happens to him, we'll be heartbroken," said one of the men, Mehdi Seyedi, to AP News. "May the prayers work and may he return to the arms of the nation safe and sound."
Tehran के Central Square पर सभी ईरानी अभी भी राष्ट्रपति Raisi और उनके साथियों की सलामती की दुआएं अल्लाह से रो रो कर मांग रहें है ....!!! pic.twitter.com/qhGGoe8mv2
— Wajidkhan (@realwajidkhan)Iranians in Tehran have gathered in Valiasr square in mass to pray for the health of the Iranian president and his accompanying team.
Don’t listen to the Zionist trolls who show 1 or 2 lousy fireworks by people celebrating the accident. pic.twitter.com/MGhj68BOeZ
Iranians in Tehran have gathered in mosques and Valiasr square in mass to pray for the health of the Iranian president and his accompanying team. May Allah protect and grant shifa to them. I found their prayers sounds melancholic. pic.twitter.com/ngpAZQtLFQ
— an_vitarelli (@an_anv)
Iranians pray for the wellbeing of President and officials as rescue efforts remain sketchy amid difficult weather. pic.twitter.com/k05vAvm06R
IRNA referred to the area as a “forest,” and the region is known to be mountainous. State TV showed images of SUVs racing through a wooded area, noting that poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind, were hampering rescue efforts. Rescuers were seen walking through fog and mist.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also urged the public to pray.
“We hope that God the Almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation,” Khamenei said, drawing an “amen” from the worshipers he was addressing.
However, the supreme leader also emphasized that the business of Iran’s government would continue regardless of the situation. Under the Iranian constitution, if the president dies, the vice first president takes over with Khamenei's assent, and a new presidential election must be held within 50 days. State media reported that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber had already begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments in Raisi’s absence.
Photos showing Iranian people gathered in downtown on May 19 to pray for President Ebrahim Raisi and his delegation after the helicopter crash. State Television Press TV says 'no sign of life' detected at the crash site of the helicopter.
Photos: CFP pic.twitter.com/qZxpQ3uh7r
Raisi, 63, a hard-liner who previously led the country’s judiciary, is seen as a protégé of Khamenei. Some analysts suggest he could succeed the 85-year-old leader after Khamenei's death or resignation.
Raisi had been at the border with Azerbaijan on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third built by the two nations on the Aras River. This visit took place despite chilly relations between the nations, including a 2023 gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Israel, which Iran views as its main regional enemy.
Iran operates various helicopters, but international sanctions make obtaining parts challenging. Its military air fleet largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images of Raisi taking off in a Bell helicopter with a blue-and-white paint scheme, which matched the crash site footage.
Raisi won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, which had the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. He is sanctioned by the U.S., partly due to his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels and hindered international inspections. It has armed Russia in its war against Ukraine and launched a significant drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran continues to arm proxy groups in the Middle East, such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, mass protests have erupted in the country for years. The latest involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly not wearing a hijab as required by authorities. The subsequent security crackdown killed over 500 people and led to over 22,000 detentions.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini’s death.
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