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Canadian Prime Minister Has 'Evidence' The Ukrainian Plane Was Shot Down By Missile

Canadian Prime Minister Has 'Evidence' The Ukrainian Plane Was Shot Down By Missile

Justin Trudeau says launching the surface-to-air missile might have been 'unintentional'.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Canada's leader Justin Trudeau says he has 'evidence' that the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran was shot down by a missile.

All 176 people onboard were killed when the plane fell out of the sky shortly after takeoff in Tehran this week.

The crash has been blamed on a technical fault, however Mr Trudeau says it was from a surface-to-air missile launched by the Iranians.

Speaking at a news conference, the Prime Minister said: "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence.

"The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional."

PA

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed up his Canadian counterpart, saying there was a 'body of information' that suggested a missile was to blame for the crash.

Iran is refusing to accept that as the reason for the crash and is conducting an investigation into the incident.

The country's head of civil aviation was quoted by Iran's INSA news agency said: "It is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane."

Iran is also refusing to hand over the black box from the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-80. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation head, Ali Abedzadeh, said the device, which is essential to working out what was happening on the aircraft, won't be leaving Iran anytime soon.

PA

He added: "We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer and the Americans. It's not yet clear which country the black box will go to for the investigation.

"This accident will be investigated by Iran's aviation organisation, but the Ukrainians can also be present during the incident's investigation."

The leaders for both Ukraine and Canada have both vowed to do whatever it takes to work out what led to the plane falling from the sky.

There were 82 Iranians onboard, along with 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedish passengers, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals.

PA

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: "Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that [the crash] is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians' questions are answered."

Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, added: "Our priority is to establish the truth and those responsible for this terrible catastrophe."

Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry, said an issue arose when a fire struck one of the aircraft's engines. The pilot is then believed to have lost control of the plane, which was sent crashing into the ground.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News