EDMONTON -- Candles were lit, prayers were said and people held each other while weeping at the Alberta Legislature Wednesday night, as about 75 people gathered to mourn Edmonton residents killed in a plane crash in Iran.
The Ukraine International Airlines flight was en route to Kyiv from Tehran when it crashed minutes after takeoff.
CTV News Edmonton has confirmed 13 Edmontonians were on board the flight, but the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton says at least 27 local residents were on the plane.
“We are here for the memory of our friends who we lost in this tragedy. It’s super cold, but still the people came here because we love them,” Iranian-Edmontonian Aidin Pour said.
“When I came here [to the vigil] I felt better. We are a small community, but we should support each other.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Jason Kenney and Mayor Don Iveson all offered condolences Wednesday.
MLAs from both the governing UCP and the opposition NDP were at the vigil to make statements of sympathy from a podium on the steps of the legislature.
“We want you to know that we are with you. We walk with you. You are not alone,” said Kaycee Madu, MLA for Edmonton-South West.
The tragedy has hit the city’s academic community particularly hard, as at least 10 of the victims have been identified as faculty, students or alumni at the University of Alberta.
Edmonton is home to 4,165 people of Iranian origin, according to the 2016 federal census.
“We know the Iranian community has made great contributions here to our city and our province,” Edmonton- City Centre MLA David Shepherd said.
“It has been our honour, as a province, to continue to welcome so many who have come here to learn, to study and to make their home.”
Plans for more vigils are being made, with one likely to happen at U of A campus on Friday and the IHIS Edmonton Mosque on Saturday.
“We may have lost some friends yesterday, but they’ll never be forgotten,” said Payman Parseyan, a member of Edmonton’s Iranian community, said.
The cause of the crash has not been released. It happened in a region where tensions are mounting between the U.S. and Iran. Commercial airlines, including Air Canada are now re-routing flights over the Middle East.
With files from CTV’s Matthew Black, Karyn Mulcahy, Dan Grummett and Rachel Gilmore
