How the Iran plane crash ranks among disasters claiming Canadian lives

A Ukrainian airliner crashed in Iran on Wednesday, killing 63 Canadians. It was one of the biggest, single death tolls involving Canadian citizens in recent times.

Following is a list of the most serious disasters than have killed at least 30 Canadians since 1979:

June 23, 1985 – 268 Canadians died when a bomb exploded on board an Air India flight over the Atlantic Ocean. The plane had been en route from Montreal to London.

Feb 15, 1982 – 67 Canadians died when the Ocean Ranger, a floating oil rig, sank off the coast of Newfoundland.

Jan 8, 2020 – 63 Canadians died in the crash of a Ukrainian airliner outside Tehran.

Jan 12, 2010 – 58 Canadians died when a massive earthquake hit Haiti.

Dec 31, 1979 – 48 Canadians died when fire ripped through a community hall in the northern Quebec town of Chapais.

July 6, 2013 – 47 Canadians died in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic after a train with oil tankers derailed and exploded.

Oct 13, 1997 – 44 Canadians, all of them senior citizens, died when their bus crashed into a ravine near Baie-St-Paul in Quebec after the brakes failed.

Jan 23, 2014 – 32 Canadians died when fire destroyed a nursing home in L’Isle Verte, Quebec.

CBC