Memorial service for Iran crash victims Sunday in Edmonton

A public memorial service will be held in Edmonton on Sunday to remember victims of this week’s air crash outside Tehran, Iran.

The Ukrainian passenger aircraft crashed Wednesday, killing everyone on board, including 138 people destined for Canada. The death toll included 31 Albertans, mostly from Edmonton.

Sunday’s memorial service is being organized by the University of Alberta in collaboration with the local Iranian-Canadian community and the City of Edmonton.

The two-hour service will be held in the main gym at the Saville Community Sports Centre, 11610 65th Ave.

Doors will open at 2 p.m. and the service will begin at 3 p.m.

“We are grieving for lost colleagues, classmates, teachers, and mentors, as well as loved ones, family, friends, and roommates,” U of A president David Turpin said in an online post Thursday. Ten members of the U of A community — professors, students and alumni — died in the crash.

“We will feel their loss — and the aftermath of this tragedy — for many years to come,” Turpin wrote.

“This tragedy has also been felt deeply in our city and in the local Iranian-Canadian community, and since yesterday we have been in conversation with the broader community on hosting a fitting tribute to those lost.”