Canadian PM called PM Rutte about MH17 after Tehran plane crash
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte to ask him how he dealt with the MH17 disaster. The call was in response to a Ukraine International Airlines plane crashing in Tehran on Wednesday, possibly after being hit by a rocket. All 176 people on board the Boeing 737-800 were killed, including 64 Canadians, RTL Nieuws reports.
Rutte "offered all the support that the Netherlands can offer" to Trudeau and Canada, a spokesperson for the Dutch Prime Minister told the broadcaster.
At a press conference, Trudeau said that Rutte stressed the importance of constantly keeping the victims' next of kin informed and keeping contact with all parties involved. Rutte offered to share expertise and information, Trudeau said.
Iran called on Trudeau to share any information it has on the crashed aircraft. "We are calling on the Canadian Prime Minister and any other government who has information about the crash to hand it over to the Investigation Commission in Iran," a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Earlier on Thursday, the country denied that the plane had been hit by a rocket. "All of these reports are psychological warfare against Iran," a government spokesperson said.
Rutte has some experience in dealing with a large scale aviation disaster due to flight MH17. The Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down over a conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014. All 298 people on board the plane were killed, including 196 Dutch.
