Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there’s “evidence” to suggest an Iranian surface-to-air missile brought down a passenger plane this week, killing all 176 people on board including 63 Canadians.

“We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

“The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional.”

At a news conference in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to discuss the ongoing investigation into the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger aircraft in Tehran, Iran. Sixty-three Canadians were among the 176 people killed in the crash.

This new information reinforces the need for a thorough investigation, Trudeau said.

“Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers,” Trudeau said.

As Canadians continue to grieve the victims of the plane crash early Wednesday on the outskirts of Tehran, the Associated Press was also earlier quoting two anonymous U.S. officials who say that it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed the Ukrainian jetliner.

“The news will undoubtedly come as a shock to the families who are already grieving in the face of this unspeakable tragedy,” Trudeau said.

The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the American drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general last week.

Also on Thursday, Iran released an initial investigative report about the crash, saying the jetliner’s crew were trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down, noting that they never made a radio call for help. Iran’s civil aviation authority says it has invited Canadian investigators from the Transportation Safety Board to join the probe.

The Boeing 737-800 crashed barely two minutes after takeoff Wednesday morning from Tehran’s airport en route to Kyiv. The majority of the 176 people on board — 138, including 63 Canadians — were headed for Canada.

As mourners prepare for more candlelight vigils across Canada on Thursday more information is coming out on the Canadian victims.

Here’s the latest information on victims that hadn’t been previously reported in the Star:

The Toronto District School Board confirmed Thursday that at least five of its students were killed in the crash.

Sophie Emami was in senior kindergarten at Lillian Public School. Arsam Niazi was in Grade 6 at Pleasant Public School and Arnica Niazi was in Grade 3 at Finch Public School. Rahmtin Ahmadi was in Grade 4 at Muirhead Public School. Maya Zibaie was a Grade 10 student at Northern Secondary School.

The University of Toronto has identified six students killed in the crash in a Wednesday press release: Mojtaba Abbasnezhad, Mohammad Asadi Lari​, Zeynab Asadi Lari​, Mohammad Amin Beiruti​, Mohammad Amin Jebelli​ and Mohammad Saleheh.

“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto community, I want to say how deeply saddened we are, and how concerned we are for the families and friends of those who lost their lives,” U of T president Meric Gertler said in a statement. “We are continuing to gather information, and taking care to respect the privacy and wishes of all involved.”

Saharnaz Haghjoo, who was the manager of the Jump Scarborough program at the YWCA, was also killed along with her daughter, Elsa Jadidi. The program is designed to help resettle newcomers to the city.

Elsa had gone to school at Wali ul Asr in Brampton up until last year. A Facebook post from Wali ul Asr called Elsa a “wonderful girl who was always smiling.”

Haghjoo’s sister is one of Wali ul Asr’s central campus teachers. The school called Haghjoo as “a great supporter of the school,” always making a point to “express her gratitude and appreciation to Elsa’s teachers.”

Asghar Dhirani was remembered for his “vivacious personality on the golf course.” He was a religious leader and supporter of the non-profit Wali ul Asr school in Caledon, close friend Shaiq Ibrahim said. He would lead pilgrimages back to various religious sites in Iraq and Iran with the community.

“He was extremely helpful, kind, and polite,” the Wali ul Asr school wrote in a Facebook post. “He often told the school’s management ‘Please to not hesitate to ask, I will help the school in any way I can, whatever little I can do.’ ”

Negar Borghei, a master’s student at McGill University, and her husband, Alvand Sadeghi, a web developer working in Toronto, were among those killed.

Amirhossein Maleki told the Star that Borghei had already received a master’s in Iran, but was pursuing another in Canada.

Sadeghi, a skilled pianist, came here after her, according to Maleki who is Borghei’s cousin.

“Everyone liked the couple,” Maleki said. “They were so happy in Canada. They were excited to come back to Iran, because all the family were getting together for a reunion.”

Maleki hadn’t met Sadeghi yet, but said that his sister called him a “very decent gentleman.”

Maleki also told the Star that Sadeghi’s sister, Sahand, was on the plane, as was her daughter, Sophie Emami.

Amir Ovaysi, 42, is remembered as a proud family man who would often show his colleagues videos and photos of his six-year-old daughter, Asal, and his wife, Sara Hamzeei, 34.

His manager, Troy Futher, says the three were in Iran to visit Ovaysi’s aging parents. Ovaysi left in mid-December, joining his wife and daughter, who had arrived in November. It was their first visit home since they came to Canada about two years ago.

Futher said he hired Ovaysi at his heating, ventilation and air-conditioning company, Smith Energy Inc., in June. Ovaysi had a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He worked out of the company’s Mississauga, Ont., office, but had a house in Newmarket, Ont.

Nasim Rahmanifar, a master’s student in the University of Alberta’s mechanical engineering department, was nervous about her first winter in Edmonton.

“She was so excited to go back . . . she planned to surprise her mom,” her friend Sina Esfandiarpour told Edmonton media at a news conference.

He said he received a text from Rahmanifar from the airport that she was on her way back and she wasn’t looking forward to the cold weather.

In London, Ont., the University of Western Ontario held a Wednesday night vigil for four graduate students who lost their lives in the plane crash:

Ghazal Nourian, a PhD candidate in mechanial and materials engineering, Milad Nahavandi, a PhD candidate in chemical and biochemical engineering, Hadis Hayatdavoudi, a PhD candidate in chemistry and Sajedeh Sareian, an incoming Master’s student in chemical and biochemical engineering.

University president Alan Shepard called the deaths “devastating.”

“It’s just heartbreaking and difficult to comprehend,” Shepard told the Western News. According to the university’s paper, all four were international students.

London mayor Ed Holder was also in attendance.

“My heart breaks for the families, friends, and loved ones of all those lost in this horrible tragedy . . . on behalf of all Londoners, our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with you,” he tweeted Wednesday.

At the University of Ottawa, a professor of international affairs shared his condolences in a Twitter post for three students — Alma Oladi, Mehraban Badiei and Saeed Kashani — who died in the crash.

“Deepest condolences to the families of three uOttawa students… and to all the other grieving families,” Roland Paris posted.

The university school paper featured Badiei, a first-year health sciences student who said her goals for 2020 were to meet new people and make new friends.

“Since the publication of this article on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, we were saddened to learn that Mehraban was a victim in the tragic Flight PS752 accident in Iran. We offer our sympathy and condolences to her family and friends,” the updated article read.

Roja Azadian was supposed to travel to Canada for the first time with her husband, who has been studying at Algonquin College in Ottawa, but a mix-up over his ticket meant he could not get on the plane with her.

“He was thinking, I’m going to send her and then I’m going to be back on the next flight,” said Leila Hojabri, a friend of Azadian’s husband.

The Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association in Halifax expressed their condolences late Wednesday night for the loss of two students, Maryam Malek and Fatemeh Mahmoodi, who were studying for a master’s degree in finance.

“We would like to express our thoughts to the families, friends, and colleagues,” the association wrote in a statement. “If you or anyone else you know have been impacted by this tragedy, we encourage you to reach out for support from the following services.”

Masoumeh Ghavi, a master’s student at Dalhousie in engineering, and her younger sister Mahdieh were on their way to Halifax.

Sadra Kord-Jamshidi, president of the Dalhousie Iranian Students Society, said Ghavi had just come to Halifax in September.

“She was the nicest and also a very hard-working individual. Being a self-funded master’s students working two jobs to make ends meet, she also offered the society her help in all of our events,” Kord-Jamshidi told the Star.

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​A Tehran native, Ghavi had been working at MTN Irancell and Huawei previously, according to her Facebook profile. ​

Mahdieh was coming to Halifax to begin her own studies.

The university released a statement Thursday that Sharieh Faghihi was also killed in the crash.

Born in Tehran, Faghihi immigrated to Canada in 2011 with her husband and two children. After graduating from Dalhousie in 2016, she returned to the faculty to teach in the Division of Periodontology in 2017 and also worked in private practice in Halifax.

“She loved Nova Scotia and her colleagues at Dal and described dentistry as ‘my career of passion all my life,’ ” the school said.

A vigil is planned at Dalhousie University Club on Saturday afternoon.

​The University of Victoria confirmed that first-year student Roja Omidbakhsh died in the plane crash.

“It is always a profound loss for the entire community when we lose someone, and our hearts and thoughts go out to Roja’s loved ones,” University president Jamie Cassels wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Omidbakhsh was a “very positive” student, professor Mark Colgate said.

“She was on the pathway to complete a bachelor of commerce . . . we’re heartbroken that this happened and our condolences go to her family and classmates.”

Meanwhile, the initial Iranian official investigative report says eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above it, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing.

The crash caused a massive explosion when the plane hit the ground, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Ukraine’s capital city.

The report also says that both of the black boxes that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane have been recovered, though they sustained damage and some parts of their memory was lost.

It also says that investigators have initially ruled out laser or electromagnetic interference as causing the crash.

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has spoken to his Iranian counterpart about the deadly crash.

A summary of the phone call released Thursday morning by Global Affairs Canada says Champagne stressed to Mohammad Javad Zarif the need for Canadian officials to be allowed into Iran to provide consular services, help with identification of the deceased and to take part in the investigation.

Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012, when it labelled the country a state sponsor of terrorism.

Champagne also told Zarif that Canada and Canadians have many questions about the crash, which killed 138 people who were en route to Canada, and condemned Iran’s missile attacks against military bases in Iraq.

Canadian soldiers were present in one of those bases.

Under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the countries where the crash happened, where the plane is registered, where the plane’s operator is located and where its manufacturer is based are all part of the investigation.

In this case, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in charge, while Ukraine will assist.

In North York, the Iranian Women’s Organization of Ontario opened its doors Thursday, holding information sessions to allow community members to meet with representatives from Ukrainian International Airlines.

Most people are worried about their families and the geopolitical situation in Iran and the Middle Eastern region in general, said organization president Sara Alimardani.

“There’s a lot of anger, dismay and frustration,” she said, noting her office has been receiving phone calls from community members who are trying to find answers about what happened.

“It’s very heartbreaking to see all these souls that are gone from our community.”

The group, which has been working in the community for the past 30 years as a hub and a safe space for women newcomers and seniors, felt it was necessary to be open and available after the tragedy. They’re hoping to give “some comfort” to those who have been directly affected by the tragedy, she said.

The group is planning an evening vigil Friday in the courtyard at their office near Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue East.

Many of the pressing questions that people have now won’t have answers until after the investigations are complete, said Karl Muller, director of Airline Pros, which represents Ukraine International Airlines in Canada.

He said many people want to know what caused the accident, who was responsible for the tragedy, what’s contained in the plane’s black box, and what happens with the insurance process for those who’ve been affected.

It usually takes five to seven days for the preliminary investigation to be complete, he said.

“This was our first-ever tragic incident,” he said, noting the flight company has been reliable for safety since launching in 1993.

“The investigation will provide answers, but we felt an obligation as an airline to reach out to the community and hear people’s concerns.”

Atosa Khalouha, who moved to Toronto in 1998, said she was back in Iran three years ago when her brother died and she took the same travel route.

She especially remembers how family members in Iran have a habit of waiting in the parking garage until the plane takes off.

“Poor people who waved that plane off thinking their beloved ones were safe in the sky,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Despite the crash, Khalouha said she would still fly back and use the same itinerary if necessary — especially because it usually offers cheap options. Like many other people, she’s anxious to find out what really caused the crash, as speculation grows that it might have been shot down, she said.

“Hopefully it was just a human error,” she said.

With files from The Canadian Press and Gilbert Ngabo

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