In a statement released on Wednesday, the General Staff gave details of the search operation after the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern forests on May 19.
It said the rescue teams conducted a search on the ground after the incident given the terrible weather in the region and the geographical complexity of the area, and considering that advanced Iranian drones equipped with synthetic-aperture radars (SARs) were taking part in a mission in the northern parts of the Indian Ocean far away from the crash zone.
Under that circumstances and after the friendly countries expressed readiness for assistance, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces approved a proposal from the nearest country, namely Turkey, it added.
The statement noted that although the Turkish drone was furnished with night-vision and thermal optical devices, it failed to detect the crash site because of lack of the equipment necessary for the control and detection of locations below the clouds, and ultimately returned to Turkey.
The wreckage of the helicopter was finally pinpointed in the early hours of Monday, May 20, by the Iranian rescue teams on the ground and the Iranian military drones that had been summoned from the north of the Indian Ocean, the statement added.
The Iranian drones with SAR are capable of monitoring and detecting spots under dense clouds, it said.
The General Staff finally expressed gratitude to all countries, particularly Turkey, for their sympathy and cooperation.
The tragic accident happened as the president and his entourage were returning from Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The crash killed President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Friday prayers leader of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, Governor of East Azarbaijan Malek Rahmati, the commander of the president’s security team, two pilots and a flight crew.