UIA plane crash: Ukraine ready to assist in returning bodies of Canadian victims

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau had a third phone conversation discussing the crash of Ukraine International Airlines plane in Iran.
“The Prime Minister of Canada thanked the President of Ukraine for his efforts to ensure access to the scene of the tragedy for Canadian experts. Justin Trudeau asked for Volodymyr Zelensky's assistance in dialogue with the Iranian authorities as regards the identification of the bodies of the victims, including Canadian citizens,” the press service of the Head of State reports.

The President of Ukraine commended the involvement of Canada's representatives in the investigation.

"Ukrainian experts and diplomats are ready to fully assist Canadian counterparts in Tehran," Volodymyr Zelensky stressed and reiterated willingness to provide logistical assistance in returning the remnants of the bodies of Canadian citizens to Canada after the completion of the necessary formal procedures in Iran.

The interlocutors stand for further coordination of efforts to ensure proper international legal liability of those responsible for the plane crash.

As noted, Volodymyr Zelensky and Justin Trudeau look forward to the constructive work of a coordination and response group led by foreign ministers of countries whose citizens were killed in crash. The group will meet on January 16 in London. In this context, the parties stressed the importance of developing an algorithm to prevent such tragedies in the future.

The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Canada expressed hope for further cooperation and exchange of information on the investigation of the disaster, in particular in interaction with Iran.

As reported, Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on Wednesday, January 8. There were 176 people on board – nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK).

January 11, Iran announced that it had shot down the UIA passenger plane accidentally. The plane was perceived as a hostile object as it approached Iran’s sensitive military base after take-off. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner.