Rescue teams who managed to arrive at first light after dawn at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran‘s President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian have confirmed that there are no survivors of the crash and that all the occupants of the aircraft are dead.
Site of the crashed helicopter
Raisi, who was travelling in the aircraft after attending an inaugural event with the President of Azerbaijan, was also travelling with the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province – where the helicopter crashed – Malek Rahmati, as well as the Imam of Tabriz province, Muhammad Ali al-Hashem, with whom rescuers had briefly managed to establish contact by phone last night, although just to confirm that his condition was not good.
Access to the region was complicated by the terrain and above all by the difficult weather conditions, with dense fog limiting visibility to a distance of only 2-3 metres and heavy rains that turned to snow overnight, further complicating the chances of survival of the occupants of the helicopter, which also crashed in an area with a large wolf population.
Several countries offered their help to Iran, but the key was an Akıncı drone with night-vision cameras sent by Turkey, which was able to detect the wreckage in the early hours of the morning, transmitting the coordinates to the rescuers.
By the time the rescue teams reached the scene, however, they could only confirm the death of the Iran’s president and all the occupants of the helicopter, whose wreckage was found charred on the side of a mountain, despite initial speculation that there were up to two survivors.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
