Ebrahim Raisi Helicopter Crash: Turkish Drone Locates Suspected Wreckage of Iran President's Chopper (Watch Video)

Over 12 hours after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter went missing after crashing in the mountains of Azerbaijan. A Turkish Akinci UAV drone deployed to aid in search efforts has located a heat signature suspected to be from the wreckage of Raisi’s chopper. Location of footage (38°46’41.0″N 46°43’12.0″E).

There is no word yet on the status of President Raisi or the other passengers and crew of the aircraft. According to reports, President Raisi attended the inauguration ceremony for a dam on the Iran-Azerbaijan border on Sunday by helicopter. Iranian state television reports suggest that the accident occurred when Raisi's helicopter made a hard landing while returning from the region.

Also Read | Iran President Raisi's fate unclear after helicopter 'hard landing', rescue teams rush to spot.

Turkish Drone Spots Heat Believed To Be From Iran’s Raisi Chopper

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) May 20, 2024

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Malik Rahmeti, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, and Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashim of Tabriz Province were also on board the helicopter. Nine people were on the helicopter that crashed in northwest Iran on Sunday

Meanwhile, Russia has announced that it will send special aircraft and 50 professional mountain rescuers to the site in northern Iran where a helicopter crashed on Sunday, CNN reported, citing Iranian state news agency IRNA.