FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 file photo debris at the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Two U.S. officials said Thursday that it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. President Donald Trump is suggesting he believes Iran was responsible. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 file photo debris at the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Two U.S. officials said Thursday that it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. President Donald Trump is suggesting he believes Iran was responsible. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

MP Morrison reacts to Iran plane crash

Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison says the Canadian government is talking with Iranian officials about pursuing an investigation into the cause of a plane crash that killed 176 passengers on Wednesday.

Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison says the Canadian government is talking with Iranian officials about pursuing an investigation into the cause of a plane crash that killed 176 passengers on Wednesday.

The crash claimed the lives of 63 Canadian citizens when a Ukraine International Airlines flight went down shortly after takeoff near the Iranian capital of Tehran, according to Global Affairs Canada.

“With the tensions that are abroad, especially with Iran, Iraq, something like this happens where 63 Canadians lost their lives on a commercial airplane…it’s way too early to speculate, but I can say my condolences and sympathies go to the family and friends of all those that died in the crash,” Morrison said on Thursday afternoon.

According to a statement from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Canadian officials have been invited by Iran to attend the crash site.

During a press conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the plane may have been shot down unintentionally by a surface-to-air missile.

“We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies’ and our own intelligence,” Trudeau said. “The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.

“This may well have been unintentional.”


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