Doomed jetliner likely shot down by Iranian missile, Trudeau says
Canadian team to visit crash site as PM calls on Tehran to allow full investigation
OTTAWA— A Ukrainian jet thatcrashedin Iran, killing more than 100 passengers headed for Canada, was “likely” downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, a shocking development that is fuelling international calls for a transparent investigation.
“The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-toair missile. This may well have been unintentional,” Trudeau said.
“It is now more important than ever that we know exactly how such a tragedy could have happened. The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers,” he said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed later Thursday that it had accepted an invitation by Iran’s accident investigation branch to attend the crash scene.
“We are making arrangements to travel to the site. The board will be working with other groups and organizations already on site,” the safety board said in a statement.
All 176 people on board Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a Boeing 737-800 NG bound for Kyiv, were killed, including 63 Canadians. A total of 138 passengers were to take connecting flights to Canada.
The crash came just hours after Iran had fired missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. and coalition troops, and it’s certain that Iranian forces would have been on high alert for any military response by the Americans.
The prime minister said intelligence from “multiple sources,” including allies and Canada’s own data, came through Wednesday night and into Thursday.
“The intelligence and evidence suggests that it is likely that it was a surfaceto-air strike, but I will not go into the details of that intelligence at this time,” Trudeau said.
He said the “preliminary conclusions … are clear enough for me to share them with Canadians right now.”
CRASH continued on A3