Did Iran shoot down Ukraine plane? Experts fear crash site compromised
- Debris from wreckage cleared, possibly leading to loss of clues to what caused Boeing 737 to go down in flames
- Canada wants to take part in investigation, but foreign minister says Iran has granted only two visas so far
US and Canadian accident investigators are uncertain how much access they will get to evidence that could prove whether Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, and there were fears Friday that the probe might already be compromised by the removal of wreckage from the crash site.
Clues to whether the Boeing 737 was brought down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, as the US and its allies allege, could be extracted from its black box recorders, which could capture the sound of an explosion, and from an examination of its pieces for such things as shrapnel holes, burn marks or explosive residue.
All 176 people aboard were killed when the American-built aircraft went down in flames on the outskirts of Tehran during take-off early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles against US forces. The dead included at least 63 Canadians.
Iran on Friday denied one of its missiles downed the plane, and it challenged the West to produce its evidence.
Television reports on Friday indicated that debris had been cleared from the crash site, leaving the area to scavengers to pick over. If the wreckage was indeed moved, some clues might have been lost unless the Iranians took careful steps to preserve evidence.