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Who will track him down first?He's being hunted! US pilot shot down wanders alone through Iran
A US fighter jet (F-15E) was shot down over Iran and a pilot is still being sought.
picture alliance / NurPhoto | Seung Il Ryu
It sounds like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster.
But what a US fighter jet pilot is going through in Iran is anything but that. On Friday (April 3), news broke that Iran had shot down a US fighter jet over its territory for the first time since the start of the war. On board: two pilots. While one of the two was rescued according to media reports, the second appears to have been lost in Iran. The USA has launched a large-scale search operation – but they are not the only ones looking for the pilot…
Iran offers reward for capture of US pilot
While the Iranian armed forces spread the news on Friday that they had shot down a US fighter jet, American media reported on the search for surviving crew members. Later, at least the good news: US special forces were able to bring one of the crew members to safety. Nevertheless, the second crew member could not be tracked down. And on Saturday morning (April 4th) there still seemed to be no trace of the second driver. Time is running out – because it's not just the USA that is looking for the missing fighter jet pilot.
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The Iranian news agency Fars reports that the army is looking for the pilot who was shot down. The residents of the region were called upon to take part in the search for the crew, and a reward was offered for their capture. “If you capture the enemy pilot(s) alive and hand them over to the police or army, you will receive a valuable reward”said an Iranian television reporter.
Trump hopes “that won’t happen”
As the New York Post writes, citing a former Air Force Safety Center investigator, a plane like the one that was shot down has an emergency transmitter as part of a survival kit. This can be activated automatically or manually.
But what would happen if Iran actually managed to find the wanted US pilot first? Asked what he would do if the other crew member still wanted were captured or injured by Iranians, Trump said in a telephone interview, according to the British newspaper The Independent: “Well, I can't comment on that because – we hope that won't happen.” One thing is certain: Iran would then have a means of exerting pressure, a prisoner, whom it could also show to the US public. A horror scenario for Trump.
According to NBC News, Trump does not see any talks with Iran influenced by the crash of the fighter jet. (with dpa/afp)
Source used: dpa, afp, New York Post
