It is one of the largest losses of Canadian lives since a bomb destroyed an Air-India flight from Montreal high over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all aboard, including 268 Canadian citizens
Almost all of the 167 passengers aboard an airliner that crashed with all lives lost after taking off from Iran on Wednesday were heading to Canada, including 63 who were Canadian citizens, officials said.
Most of the passengers on the Ukraine International Airlines flight were transiting through Kyiv to Canada although the victims are citizens of seven countries, according to Ukraine officials. “According to the airline, there were 138 passengers who weren’t on that flight because they died in the crash on the earlier leg of their travel,” he told reporters.
The crash occurred about three and a half hours after Iran’s launch of 22 missiles. There were immediate questions of whether the crash is related to the missiles or increased tension between Iran and the U.S., and coalition allies in Iraq after the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani. Iran’s media reported that both of the aircraft’s flight data recorders — the so-called black boxes — were recovered but quoted Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the Iran Civil Aviation Organization, saying they would not be turned over to the U.S. or its U.S. manufacturer. The boxes contain information on the movement of the plane and its instruments and communications.
Over the internet, photos of the wreckage were shared showing holes in the plane that amateur sleuths suspected were from gunfire.“The rumours about the plane are completely false and no military or political expert has confirmed it,” said Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PM Trudeau 'shocked and saddened' by crash that killed 63 CanadiansPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said he's 'shocked and saddened' to hear about the Ukrainian passenger plane crash in Tehran, Iran which killed 176 people including 63 Canadians.
Read more »
Air Canada reroutes Mideast flights after airliner crash kills 63 CanadiansAir Canada has rerouted its flights over the Middle East after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed in Iran killing all on board.
Read more »
Latest updates on plane crash that killed 176 people, including 63 CanadiansA plane crash in Iran has left 176 people dead, including 63 Canadians.
Read more »
What people are saying about the Ukrainian plane crash that killed 176Political leaders are offering their sympathies following the deaths of 176 people, including 63 Canadians, in a plane crash in Iran.
Read more »
63 Canadians killed in plane crash near Tehran: Ukrainian officialDozens of Canadians were among the 176 people killed in a plane crash just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital's main airport, Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs said.
Read more »