A Ukranian jetliner that crashed minutes after takeoff from an Iranian airport, killing all 176 on board, is now being linked to a ballistic missile attack by Irani forces – news that will certainly impact the nation’s anxiety and grief, says a Greater Victoria professor.
The death toll includes at least 63 Canadians, 11 British Columbians and one Greater Victoria resident – first-year bachelor of commerce student Roja Omidbakhsh.
“I think most Canadians are probably in a complete state of shock about what’s happened,” said Kenneth Christie, professor and program head for Royal Roads University’s Human Security and Peacebuilding graduate programs. “This is a national disaster. I think it’s going to take a long time. People are in shock and it’s obviously going to take quite some time for healing.”
RELATED: First-year UVic student among the 176 victims of Iran plane crash
The University of Victoria’s Grad Student Society (GSS) is hosting an informal memorial this evening to commemorate the lives lost.
GSS Chair Mehdi Hashemi is of Iranian descent and released a statement on the GSS Facebook page.
“These Canadian victims largely belonged to the academic community in British Columbia and across Canada. For that reason, we (the Executive Board of the UVic Graduate Students’ Society) feel compelled to share our deepest condolences, and express solidarity, with the individuals, families and communities, especially the Iranian-Canadian community and the academic communities, impacted by this sad event,” Hashemi wrote.
The GSS is hosting an informal memorial Thursday night from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Side Project Cafe in the Halpern Grad Centre on the University of Victoria campus at 3800 Finnerty Rd.
Members of the Victoria Iranian-Persian Cultural Society are also attending the event, posting a message on their Facebook page.
“The tragic news of the plane crash in Iran has shocked us all. So many people including dozens of Iranian-Canadians lost their lives. It is now confirmed that amongst the victims, there was an undergraduate UVic student as well,” the post reads. “We, too, are deeply sad to hear this tragic news, and share our deepest of condolences, and express our solidarity with those directly or indirectly impacted.”
All members of the community are welcome to attend.
“This surely is a distressing moment for all of us, and we want to reach out to everyone affected,” Hashemi wrote. “All members of the Iranian-Canadian community, as well as friends and allies on or off the campus are welcome. This will be an informal gathering, please feel free to come and go as your time permits.”
RELATED: Iran says Ukrainian plane was on fire, tried to turn back before crash
| Bodies of the victims of a Ukrainian plane crash are collected by rescue team at the scene of the crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday, just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital's main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) |
According to an initial Iranian investigative report released Thursday, Flight PS752, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukranian International Airlines, was on fire and attempting to get back to the Tehran airport when it crashed after reaching nearly 8,000 feet of altitude. The report says the flight crew never made a radio call for help.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, released a ‘readout’ of his conversation with the Iranian foreign minister in which the Canadian official “stressed the need” for Canadian officials to get quick access to Iran to provide consular services, help with identifying the deceased and take part in the investigation of the crash.
The crash followed a week of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, starting with an American drone strike that killed top Iranain commander Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad Jan. 3. U.S. military forces were evicted from the region, and Iranian state television reported that Iran would no longer abide by limits of its 2015 nuclear deal.
“Canada typically follows the line that the U.S. follows in terms of its foreign policy,” Christie said. “Though I think in this case there’s probably some upset that the U.S. went and conducted the drone strike against Soleimani on their own.”
RELATED: Iran warns US to not retaliate over missile attack in Iraq
On the same morning the plane crashed, Iran launched missile attacks on Iraq bases where American, Canadian and allied troops were stationed, announcing the strikes as retaliation for Soleimani’s killing. U.S. officials now say it is “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed the jetliner.
“Precisely at that moment in time and just a few hours before, Iran was launching missiles at American air bases in Iraq and there is some speculation that a missile might have hit the plane,” Christie said. “I think that kind of uncertainty about what happened, and the fact that the Iranians have not handed over the black box … I think that uncertainty and ambiguity exacerbated all that worry and anxiety and tension.
“Part of that will be about closure, to know what happened in those final moments,” he added.
- With files from Kendra Crighton, The Canadian Press
RELATED: ‘Highly likely’ Iran downed Ukrainian jetliner: US officials
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in Ottawa following the fatal plane crash outside of Tehran, Iran, that claimed the lives of 176 people, including 63 Canadians. pic.twitter.com/uMTdY11jDO
— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) January 9, 2020
With files from the Associated Press.
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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