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OTTAWA—New intelligence indicates the plane that crashed in Tehran this week, killing 63 Canadians, was shot down by an Iranian missile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed Thursday.
“The news will undoubtedly come as a further shock to the families that are already grieving,” Trudeau said, speaking to reporters for the second time in two days near Parliament Hill.
The prime minister said the intelligence suggesting a “surface-to-air missile” caused the plane crash comes from Canadian personnel as well as from allies.
“This may well have been unintentional,” Trudeau said, repeating his call to Iranian authorities to allow Canadian authorities to take part in the investigation into the cause of the plane crash
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At a news conference in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to discuss the ongoing investigation into the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger aircraft in Tehran, Iran. Sixty-three Canadians were among the 176 people killed in the crash.
“Canadians have questions and they deserve answers,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau declined to disclose further details, other than to say the intelligence indicates that the crash was “likely” caused by a missile strike.
The Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed soon after takeoff from Tehran this week was on fire and appeared to be turning back to the airport before it hit the ground, according to a preliminary report, and Ukrainian officials are considering the possibility that the plane was downed by a hostile act.
The crew of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, bound for Kyiv, made no distress call before Iranian air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane while it was still in the air, according to the report by Iran’s civil aviation organization.
All 176 people on board the Boeing 737-800 NG were killed in the crash, including 138 who were headed onward to Canada.
The abrupt loss of communications suggests something catastrophic and sudden happened to the aircraft.
“According to witnesses … a fire appeared on the aircraft which was intensifying, then impacted the ground causing an explosion,” the Iranian report said.
The jet was initially headed west “but turned right following a technical report and had a track showing returning to the airport,” the report said.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also raised the possibility that plane was inadvertently brought down as he raised doubts that the crash was caused by a mechanical problem.
“Someone could have made a mistake on the other side …it has nothing to do with us,” Trump said Thursday. “It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake.
“Some people say it’s mechanical. I personally don’t think that’s even a question personally,” he said.
Asked whether it may have been shot down by accident, Trump said, “I really don’t know.”
The preliminary report states that officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada were notified about the accident under international aviation protocols and suggested Canada would have a role to play in the probe. “The investigation team would like to invite all the states involved in the accident to participate in the investigation process,” the report stated.
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Ukraine’s national security and defence council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said several scenarios are being considered, including the possibility that the plane was struck by an anti-aircraft missile.
Other theories include a collision with a drone “or other flying object,” an explosive failure of an engine and an explosion inside the plane “as a result of terrorist act,” Danilov said in a Facebook post.
The crash came soon after Iran had fired missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. and coalition troops, raising fears that a hostile act may have caused the crash of the Ukrainian jet.
Danilov said that the investigation will include specialists who took part in the probe of the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777 which was downed by a Russian missile as it flew through Ukrainian airspace in 2014.
Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the speculation about a hostile act underscores the need for a proper investigation.
“We would really need to get the details on what were the circumstances,” Paris said.
“It’s hard to imagine the Iranian government deliberately shooting down a civilian plane full of Iranians. But all of this speaks to the importance of there being a thorough investigation and of Canada playing a role in that investigation.”
Paris added that it is still too early to speculate about any Canadian response given the lack of clarity about what happened.
“I would presume the United States was watching for missile launches very closely,” he said. “It seems a little bit premature because all of this stuff is speculative.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has spoken with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, seeking Canadian participation in the investigation.
“Minister Champagne stressed the need for Canadian officials to be quickly granted access to Iran to provide consular services, help with the identification of the deceased and take part in the investigation of the crash,” the statement said.
“Minister Champagne said that Canada and Canadians have many questions which will need to be answered ,” it said.
On Wednesday, Trudeau told reporters that Canada, which has offered technical assistance, should be involved given the large number of Canadian victims.
“We expect to have a role in this investigation. Canadians will be asking for answers and we are there to support and find out the truth,” he said.
The statement also said that Champagne condemned Iranian airstrikes that targeted two Iraqi military bases where U.S. and coalition forces were based, including one with Canadians. There were no casualties.
Canada has no formal diplomatic ties with Iran. The previous Conservative government closed the Canadian embassy in Tehran in 2012, a fact that has complicated Canada’s response to this week’s air disaster.
1 comment:
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