What started as a search and rescue mission ended in disaster. An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter was struck by Iranian fire in Kohgiluyeh while searching for the second F-15E crew member. The helicopter was seen trailing black smoke as it crossed into Iraq. Per Axios, it was the same one that had rescued the first F-15E crew member. US officials confirmed the crew was injured.

A second Black Hawk was also hit during the same mission. Both helicopters returned to base under fire. But it wasn’t just the Iranian military shooting: police with automatic rifles and civilians with shotguns opened fire on the rescue aircraft. Video of Iranian police firing was geolocated near Choram, about 70 miles north of the Persian Gulf. State TV broadcast: “Shoot them if you see them.”

In total, a single day of operations left an F-15E shot down, an A-10C crashed in Kuwait after being hit, a Pave Hawk struck with injured crew, and a second Black Hawk damaged. One F-15E crew member was rescued but the second remains missing in enemy territory as night falls.