Iranians marked the 31st anniversary of the terrible tragedy and paid tribute to the 290 victims of the passenger plane that was shot down by the US warship USS Vincennes over Iran's territorial waters on the usual air corridor on July 3, 1988.
The aircraft, an Airbus A300, was destroyed by two surface-to-air missiles fired from the Vincennes killing all 290 passengers on board, including 66 children under thirteen, 53 women, and all the 16 crew members. The plane had 36 foreign nationals on board from six countries.
The black box of the aircraft was never found.
The event was held in the presence of Hormuzgan officials and families of the victims. Participants chanted "Death to US" and "Death to Israel".
Iran Air Flight 655 to Dubai, as a part of the a twice-weekly route flown by the airline for over 20 years, was shot down by the United States Navy over the Persian Gulf shortly after it took off from Bandar Abbas.
After the tragic incident, Will Rogers III, the captain of the US Vincennes, was eulogized and awarded, which proved that the US navy's attack at Iranian passenger plane has been a premeditated crime.
Every year, helicopters shower with flowers the site where the bodies of the victims had scattered.
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