Newly released video seems to strengthen the U.S., Ukrainian and Canadian theory that an Iranian missile shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight on Wednesday.
The 20-second video, which was first released and verified by The New York Times, shows what appears to be a missile striking a plane in the night sky, and a fireball erupting from the explosion.
[For a larger view of the video below, click the arrow button in the bottom right corner to expand it.]
The Times claims it viewed multiple videos that showed the plane did not explode, and instead continued flying for several minutes before turning back toward the airport, then exploding and crashing.
Other video footage purportedly of the crash shows the plane on fire before it crashed quickly.
Additional surveillance footage appears to show the plane crashing into a building and shattering into fiery wreckage.
The crash took place less than five minutes after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, which killed 176 people.
U.S. officials determined on Thursday that it is “highly likely” the crash was caused by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
Ukraine Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said, “A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash,” according to Fox News.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said Canada possesses intelligence that adds to the theory.
“We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” the Associated Press reported.
Trudeau added that the strike “may well have been unintentional.”
President Trump also rejected assertions of mechanical errors and suggested the plane could’ve been mistakenly shot down.
Ukrainian investigators have been probing all possibilities, including engine failure, terrorist attack, and an anti-aircraft missile that could’ve caused the crash, but have acknowledged a missile strike is the most likely source.
The crash took place just hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles on two U.S. military bases in Iraq.
Iran has refused to turn over the plane’s black box recorder, or allow the U.S. to be involved in the investigation. Iran’s preliminary investigative report declares that the plane suffered an emergency due to technical malfunctions and attempted to return to the airport, but never transmitted a radio call for help.
