It's a race against time to find American airman who ejected over Iran as a bounty is placed on his head
Iran has offered what it calls a ‘precious prize’ for anyone who leads them to the capture of a missing American pilot, as the US launches a frantic rescue mission for the airman.
A US F-15 fighter jet was shot down yesterday, and a second jet was damaged in a missile attack. Three crew members are known to have ejected from both aircraft over dangerous and treacherous terrain close to the Iraqi border.
This is the first time a US fighter jet has been shot down in Iran since the start of the war six weeks ago, and upon the discovery of the ejector seats, Iran immediately launched a campaign to capture the pilots.
An F15 fighter plane (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Two men were rescued, but a third man is believed to have also ejected from the second aircraft, and the search for him is continuing on both the American and Iranian side. The second aircraft is believed to have limped back to base.
Upon the discovery of debris from the stricken aircraft, Iranian state television began urging the public to search the area for the pilots.
One TV host is quoted as saying ‘If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize’.
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters – Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the American command center is continuing its desperate search for the airman, and they have deployed Black Hawk helicopters along with a low-flying refueling aircraft to scour the entire area where the plane is known to have crashed.
The two ejector seats were found in the desert, and two men were rescued, but it’s believed a third airman is in the area near the crash site.
A $60,000 bounty has been put on the head of the missing American airman, and search teams made up of local residents and the Iranian army are believed to be combing the area where the first plane was brought down and the second one hit, in an effort to capture the remaining soldier.
There are conflicting claims about whether the missing airman could have been captured, but nothing has been confirmed.
