Thousands of soldiers lined a Kandahar tarmac at sunrise on Tuesday to bid goodbye to a Canadian comrade who was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

Comrades of Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze carry his coffin up the tarmac at the Kandahar air field on Tuesday.
(Stephanie Levitz/Canadian Press)

As pipers played Amazing Grace, the flag-draped coffin of Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze was hoisted into a Hercules plane to begin its journey back to Canada.

Hayakaze, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, died Sunday after his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Panjwaii district, 45 kilometres west of Kandahar.

He was immediately taken from the scene by helicopter, but was pronounced dead on arrival at the medical unit at Kandahar airfield.

The crowd of about 3,000 at Tuesday's ceremony included soldiers from Canada, the United States, Australia, Great Britain and France. Civilians also participated.

The coffin was carried by soldiers who served alongside Hayakaze in the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) regiment.

Hayakaze, 25, was killed Sunday when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
(Master Cpl. Laurie-Ann White/Canadian Press)

Hayakaze will be laid to rest with a military funeral in Edmonton at the wishes of his family, his commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Pascal Demers, said Monday. The family did not want to speak to the media Monday.

"The word I did get from Trooper Hayakaze's father, Ted, was just that he expressed a wish to honour and respect his son's service to society, and of course we'll respect that," Demers said.

Sent to replace injured soldier

Hayakaze joined the Canadian Forces in June 2006, and trained in Texas, Alberta and Germany to prepare for his deployment to Afghanistan. Part of his work in Germany included specialized driving training.

"He was a bit quiet and reserved, but from what I gathered he seemed to be very capable, very competent, and resolute in getting on with going to Afghanistan and trying to make a bit of a difference," Demers said.

The Strathconas left for Afghanistan in the summer but Hayakaze didn't join them at that point. Part of the unit's reserve, he deployed to the war-torn country in October to replace another driver who had been injured by a roadside bomb, Demers said.

He was the 79th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002. A Canadian diplomat has also been killed.

With files from the Canadian Press