More vigils for B.C. residents who were on board the Ukrainian jetliner that was shot down by an Iranian missile were held this weekend, as friends and family continue to grieve the horrific military mistake.
Saturday saw mourners gather at the North Vancouver apartment building that Mohammad (Daniel) Saket and Fatemah (Faye) Kazerani called home.
Saket, an engineer for the North Shore-based Denna Homes, helped with the building’s construction and was remembered as a thoughtful and kind man.
“Any type of question, whether it was engineering or any other information, he was there to help,” Abo Taheri, a managing partner for Denna Homes, said outside the vigil in the building’s lobby.
“And he was there to help with a kind gesture, not just wanting to do it as a responsibility. He was doing it to be helpful to the neighbours.”
The company’s vice-president of marketing Dan Thomson issued a statement this week calling Saket’s passing “a significant loss to all of us” in the “small office of 10 people.”
“Daniel and Faye both had a zest for life that lit up every room they entered,” Thomson said.
Farzad Taheri said he saw his cousins, who went by the English names Daniel and Faye, just before Christmas.
“Faye was the most positive, also extremely kind and generous woman,” he said, while describing Saket as an “extremely kind, generous, humble genius.”
Saket and Kazerani were among 15 people who called B.C. home when the Boeing 737-800 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board.
The Canadian government on Friday said 57 Canadians died in the crash, down from an earlier report of 63 from Ukrainian authorities.
The Iranian government admitted Saturday morning that its military “unintentionally” launched a missile at the plane, blaming “human error” after repeatedly denying it was responsible.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “furious” and “outraged” by Iran’s admission, and called on the regime to take “full responsibility” for the incident.
At a vigil for the victims held outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Saturday, mourners expressed similar outrage and sadness.
“We’re angry,” said Shahrokh Ferdowsi, whose cousin Farhad Niknam was killed in the crash. “Why did it take days for them to come out and say this? We all knew from the get-go.
“Why was this plane allowed to take off in that moment of time that it did? Did they not care about the people on board? Someone needs to answer that.”
The plane was shot down just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces.
That action was seen as a direct retaliation for the U.S. airstrike that killed top-ranking Iranian military officer Gen. Qassam Soleimani on Jan. 3, which Iran said Saturday had put the military on high alert due to “unprecedented threats” led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian American journalist and commentator, told Global News Saturday that Iran has to answer for why passenger flights were allowed to continue during such a tense situation.
“We haven’t had a clear answer for that yet,” she said, explaining the airport authority has argued they didn’t get enough orders to halt air travel.
“It seems like it was total incompetence, a mismanagement that could have been prevented.”
Mortazavi said while “human error” can happen at times of war or international conflict, Iran’s status on the world stage is under threat because of the mistake, which can only be improved by continuing to be transparent.
“The way that they’ve tried to hide the truth — the denials, the lies, the rumours, the conspiracies — all of that was really terrible and showed a really incompetent image,” she said.
“I think this is a good positive first step towards taking responsibility … after three days of mourning and people wanting justice and answers.”
As friends and family await those answers, they say they’re trying to take comfort knowing their loved ones are at peace.