Officials say 63 Canadians among those killed in Tehran plane crash

RCI | English : Reports

Ukraine's foreign minister says 63 Canadians were among the 176 people killed when a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane crashed just minutes after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday. Flight PS752 was en route to Kyiv when it went down. Ukrainian authorities initially said it appeared mechanical failure was the cause of the crash but later said nothing could be ruled out. Former pilot and former Transportation Safety Board of Canada crash investigator Larry Vance spoke with CBC News' Suhana Meharchand about the range of possibilities investigators will be looking at to try to figure out why the plane lost its signal after climbing to about 8,000 feet before crashing. ListenEN_Interview_4-20200108-WIE40 The three-and-a-half-year-old Boeing 737-800 crashed just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi military bases, housing U.S. soldiers. Airlines from around the world, including Air Canada, rerouted flights from the area pending further investigations into what happened, Evin Arsalani and her one-year-old daughter, Kurdia, were among those killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crashed near Tehran Wednesday morning. (Evin Arsalani/Facebook) In a statement offering his condolences, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will ensure the crash is "thoroughly investigated." In addition to the 63 Canadians, there were 82 Iranians, 11 Ukrainian passengers and crew, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons on board. There were no survivors. A close friend confirmed to CBC News this to be University of Toronto student Mojtaba Abbasnezhad, a victim of Wednesday's crash. (Mojtaba Abbasnezhad/Facebook) Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he had been in touch with the Ukraine government, tweeting, "Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims." Payman Paseyan, a member of the Iranian-Canadian community in Edmonton, said multiple people from the city were on the plane, including many international students. Meanwhile, CBC News reports that a family of three, a University of Toronto student, and a Greater Toronto Area dentist are among the 63 Canadians who lost their lives. With files from CBC, CP, AP, Reuters