Rewritten Title: A Tense Account: Spokesman Recounts the Critical Moments During President Raisi’s Helicopter Incident
Article:
A senior official has provided a detailed and harrowing account of the tense moments when a helicopter carrying Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, experienced a critical emergency.
The Moment of Crisis
In a recent statement, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, a former presidential office chief, described the incident. He revealed that the sudden loss of radio contact and the helicopter’s disappearance from view immediately suggested a crash to the accompanying team. “The world collapsed on our heads,” Esmaili stated, capturing the severity of the moment.
A Sudden Maneuver and Growing Concern
Esmaili, who was seated in the front of another helicopter, recounted the first signs of trouble. “Suddenly, I saw the helicopter make a turn, and I became concerned,” he said. When he inquired, the initial explanation was that a gap had formed between the helicopters and they were attempting to regroup—a justification that seemed plausible at the time.
Communication Lost
The situation escalated rapidly. “A few seconds later, they said they could no longer see one of the helicopters and it might have made an emergency landing,” Esmaili continued. His immediate question was about their radio link. The chilling response was that the radio communication was not responding. Upon learning it was the President’s helicopter that had lost contact, the worst was feared. “Right then, for us, it evoked a crash,” he said.
A Frantic Search for Answers
The accompanying team sprang into action, attempting to make mobile phone calls to various officials, including the provincial governor and other authorities. However, these efforts were met with frustration as lines were either dead or went unanswered. The only numbers that rang were those of Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and another official, but even these calls were not picked up.
A Shift to Ground Search
Realizing that an aerial search was proving futile in the conditions, the team made the critical decision to shift their efforts to the ground. “We understood that nothing could be done in the sky and we had to search on the ground,” Esmaili explained. The team subsequently located a suitable area and performed an emergency landing near Sungun to begin their search operation.