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BC Victims of Downed Ukrainian Plane Mourned Across Several Sites

BC Mourns VIctims of Downed Ukrainian Plane In Iran Outside Vancouver Art Gallery

Photo: @golnaz._.khatoon / Instagram

Tragedy struck last week when Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 was downed in Iran, killing all 176 people on board the plane.

Rumours immediately began swirling about what brought the plane down. Tensions between Iran and the United States were peaking after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike to kill Iranian General Qassim Suleimani, whom many countries perceive as Iran’s second-in-command.

Iran was expected to retaliate, and they did, bombarding two American military bases in Iraq with missiles, which ultimately did not result in any casualties or injuries. A few hours after that attack, however, news broke that Flight PS752 heading to Kyiv was brought down, and many naturally wondered if there was a connection.

After initially saying that the Ukrainian plane was downed due to technical malfunction, Iran claimed responsibility this weekend, saying “human error” led to a missile unintentionally bringing down the plane.

Of the 176 victims aboard, 82 were Iranian, 63 were Canadian, 11 were Ukrainian, 10 were Swedish, 4 were Afghan, 3 were German, and 3 were British.

As of writing, of the 63 Canadians, 14 were Iranian-Canadians with ties to British Columbia, devastating the Iranian communities they were a part of, and memorials for the victims were held across Metro Vancouver throughout the weekend.

Candles and flowers were laid outside Amir Bakery in North Vancouver, a Persian bakery run by a family whose mother and daughter were aboard the downed Ukrainian plane.

Several bouquets of flowers, along with a card, were found outside North Vancouver City Hall.

And on Sunday, many gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to mourn the victims, as well as protest the Iranian government for its lack of transparency immediately following the incident.

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Immediately following the drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, Iran, which was home to countless anti-government protests in 2019, was united in their grief. After the Iranian government claimed responsibility this past weekend, however, the divide again returned.

As highlighted by the New York Times, protesters in Iran chanted “Our enemy is right here.”

For more Metro Vancouver news, stay tuned to 604 Now News.

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