More events honouring the passengers and crew killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed near Tehran, Iran last week have been scheduled in the days ahead as Ottawans and Canadians continue to mourn the lives lost in the tragedy.
A vigil will be held on Carleton University’s campus on Wednesday afternoon to remember the passengers and crew killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed near Tehran, Iran last week, the school said Monday.
The university confirmed the day of the crash that PhD student Fareed Arasteh and biology alumnus Mansour Pourjam were among the 176 people who died.
“The Carleton community is a caring one and we support each other in good times and in bad,” Carleton president Benoit-Antoine Bacon said in a statement announcing the date of the vigil.
“Universities across Canada have been devastated by the loss of students, faculty, staff and alumni; as we honour Fareed and Mansour, we will also pay homage to all of the victims of this terrible tragedy.”
The university’s vigil is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15 — one week after the fatal crash.
The event will be held in the foyer of the Tory Building on campus and condolence books will be available to sign, according to the school.
A memorial service for the victims on Sunday afternoon is also in the works, according to a Facebook page for the event.
The page says the service will be hosted by Ottawa’s Iranian community, who also organized a vigil on Parliament Hill on Thursday night.
On Saturday, Iran said its military “unintentionally” shot down the plane after repeatedly denying it was responsible.
Missiles were fired at the jetliner “due to human error,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted.
Officials previously said 63 Canadians were among the 176 passengers and crew killed, but that number has been lowered to 57. Several others aboard the plane lived in or had ties to Canada.
A separate memorial ceremony was held Friday afternoon at the University of Ottawa, which confirmed three international students enrolled in the school were killed in the Jan. 8 plane crash.
— With a file from Global News’ Eric Stober