Aircraft parts from the wreckage of the Ukraine International Airlines which crashed shortly after takeoff lie on the ground near Shahedshahr, Iran, Jan 8, 2020. (ALI MOHAMMADI / BLOOMBERG)
MONTREAL - Canada is pressing Iran for additional answers over the downing in January of a Ukrainian jetliner, after an announcement by Tehran on Sunday provided “limited and selected information.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on Jan 8, mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions were high between Iran and the United States
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on Jan 8, mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions were high between Iran and the United States.
ALSO READ: Iran: Black boxes show missiles hit Ukraine jet 25 seconds apart
Many of the 176 victims killed in the crash were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or had Canada as their final destination.
Tehran said an analysis from the black boxes of the Ukrainian plane shows it was hit by two missiles 25 seconds apart and that passengers were still alive for some time after the impact of the first blast.
“This preliminary report only provides limited and selected information regarding this tragic event,” Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement on Sunday night.
ALSO READ: Iran says its military shot down Ukrainian plane by mistake
“The report only mentions what transpired after the first missile strike but not the second and only confirms information that we already know.”
The ministers asked why the “missiles were launched in the first place and why the air space was open.”
Earlier on Sunday, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) questioned why commercial airlines continued operating in the area affected by the conflict.
READ MORE: Iran says forgetful operator was trigger for Ukraine jet crash
Under UN rules, Iran retains overall control of the investigation while the United States and Ukraine are accredited as the countries where the jet was respectively built and operated. Canada has also played a role as the home of many of the victims on the downed plane.