'No words can erase the pain': Alberta politicians, community leaders react to Iran plane tragedy
'Edmonton is in mourning today — our community has suffered a terrible loss'
As family and friends mourn the 30 Edmontonians killed in a plane crash in Iran on Wednesday, politicians and other community leaders expressed shock and sadness.
All 176 people on board Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 were killed when the plane crashed after taking off from Tehran's main airport.
Reuters is reporting 30 of the dead were from Edmonton — almost half of the 63 victims from Canada.
At least 10 of the victims had ties to the University of Alberta, president and vice-chancellor David Turpin said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
"Words simply cannot express the grief that we are feeling on campus," says <a href="https://twitter.com/UAlberta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ualberta</a> president David Turpin of the plane crash that killed several students and staff members.<br><br>Counselling and other services are available for those on campus: <a href="https://t.co/LOFZv3hUFr">https://t.co/LOFZv3hUFr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yeg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#yeg</a> <a href="https://t.co/wQtkiOoqqd">pic.twitter.com/wQtkiOoqqd</a>
—@CBCEdmonton"The aftermath will be with us for years to come," Turpin said. He said there are 500 Iranian students at the school, making it one of the largest international student groups at the U of A.
The victims with U of A connections were students, professors, and alumni, he said.
"We will be acknowledging and celebrating each one of these tremendous people in the days ahead."
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The university has lowered flags to half-mast in recognition of the tragedy, and Turpin said counselling and other support services are available to those who need it.
'Heartbroken'
At a news conference Wednesday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney offered condolences on behalf of the provincial government to the families of those who died. He also extended his sympathies to the University of Alberta, and the Albertan Persian community.
"It's a small but dynamic and well-educated, highly successful community, many of whom came to Canada to do advanced studies and have succeeded in our professions," the premier said.
He said he reached out to federal Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and said he hoped to set up a call to express Alberta's support of the Government of Canada's efforts to "get to the bottom" of the disaster.
"Obviously we are very hopeful that the Iranian authorities will co-operate with Canada, Ukraine and international authorities to have a full and independent inquiry into the causes of the crash," he said. "It is essential that we have full co-operation and transparency, to know what the causes were."
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Speaking at city hall, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said he was "heartbroken" by the news of the crash.
"The reach will be significant across schools, across places of worship, across communities, and across workplaces," the mayor said. "It will be deeply felt by many, many Edmontonians."
The mayor held back tears as he spoke about his "disbelief" at learning that as many as 30 Edmontonians had been killed.
"We haven't had a tragedy of this magnitude that anyone can remember in recent years affect so many people directly in our city at one time," he said.
"You can imagine how families will be affected."