WINNIPEG -- Events have been planned in Winnipeg in the wake of the Ukrainian International Airlines plane crash Wednesday.
The University of Manitoba, which lost two students as well as three members of its alumni in the crash, has organized a vigil for Friday afternoon in the EITC Atrium in the Faculty of Engineering.
“This horrific and heartrending tragedy is being felt across our country and here at home,” said David Barnard, president of the university, in a statement. “Together, we mourn the loss of every passenger and remember those we knew as classmates, friends, students, colleagues and family members.”
The vigil is open to anyone affected by the crash and will take place between 4 and 5:30 p.m. CTV News Winnipeg will carry an online stream of the event, on this page.
The university also held a support meeting on Thursday for those affected by the crash which left 176 people dead, including 63 Canadians and non-citizens living in Canada.
The support meeting was led by counsellors from the Student Counselling Centre, and was completely confidential.
“This type of meeting has been developed to assist people to manage and prepare for possible reactions following traumatic events,” a tweet from the university said.
“People have different reactions to traumatic events and you do not have to be having any particular difficulty to benefit from this meeting. It has been shown that meetings like the one being offered often help prevent uncomfortable effects of stress and loss.”
MEMORIAL PLANNED FOR SUNDAY IN WINNIPEG
On Wednesday, the U of M Iranian Student Association told CTV News it was aware of eight people with connections to Winnipeg who were on board the plane.
The victims from Winnipeg include: Amirhossien Ghasemi, a graduate student in biomedical engineering; Amirhossein Ghorbani Bahabadi, a student with the university's International College of Manitoba; family of three Mehdi Sadeghi, his wife Bahareh Hajesfandiari and their daughter Anisa Sadeghi; and scientist Forough Khadem, who graduated from the U of M with a PhD in 2016.
Two other U of M graduates, who were most recently living in Alberta, were also confirmed as being among the crash victims.
Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, who were with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Engineering, both graduated with PhDs from the U of M in 2001. They were on the flight with their daughters, Darya and Darina Mousavi.
The Pembina Trails School Division said two of its students, who attended different schools within the division, were also listed as being on board.
Mojtaba Montazeri, who was friends with some of the crash victims, told CTV News Winnipeg a memorial will be held on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Caboto Centre, located at 1055 Wilkes Avenue. He said they are hoping that some family members of the victims will be able to make it, but it’s not finalized.
Everyone is invited to attend the memorial.
- With files from CTV's Megan Benedictson.
