Candlelight vigil held on Parliament Hill for victims of plane crash in Iran

Candlelight vigil for plane crash victims Iranian community gathers to pay respects to the Canadians who died. CTV’s Christina Succi reports.

OTTAWA — A candlelight vigil was held on Parliament Hill Thursday night to honour the 63 Canadians who died in the Ukrainian International Airlines crash in Iran.

Hundreds of people gathered around the Centennial Flame, lighting candles and leaving flowers for the victims. Eight of them are from Ottawa.

"We, as a community, are here to support the families and friends (of people) that they lost," organizer Yasser Chiniforooshan tells CTV News.

"A lot of us here as immigrants or new residents, we don't have too many friends or family members here. So we're here as family members. So that's why I think people here feel very together...we feel like we've lost family members, not just friends."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped by the vigil briefly, making his way around the crowd and offering condolences.