12 B.C. residents among 63 Canadians killed in Tehran plane crash

Madani immigrated to Canada from Iran in September 2013 with her husband and daughter.

In an archived blog post on the New To BC website, Madani was interviewed about her experience working to transfer her medical skills and qualifications to Canada.

“For my husband and I, the biggest challenge faced was finding a job, but the other issue we faced was the fact that our daughter was starting high school in a foreign country,” she said.

In 2015, Madani had taken one of the required three exams that would allow her to begin practicing medicine in Canada. The blog post also spoke about Madani’s support from MOSAIC and Back in Motion – Skills Connect in order to secure work after immigrating. Madani had also spent time working with the North Vancouver City Library as a library champion.

Majid Mahichi, who runs Persian television studio Parvaz TV, is a childhood friend of Pourshabanoshibi who reconnected with him after the latter immigrated in 2013.

“He was one of the top students in town,” said Mahichi. “They decided to upgrade their education in Canada so they moved to a better life here.”

Mahichi said Pourshabanoshibi was kind and highly focused on education.

“Always thinking about a good future, you know? That’s why he moved to Canada, to have a better life,” he told Postmedia.

They are survived by their daughter Kimia Pourshaban Oshibi.

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Couple Mohammad Hossein (Daniel) Saket and Fatemeh (Faye) Kazerani

North Vancouver couple Mohammad Hossein (Daniel) Saket and Fatemeh Kazerani also died, according to relative Farzad Taheri. Taheri said Saket, born in 1986, was an engineer and Kazerani, born in 1987, was a dental hygienist.

A photo of the couple, along with a notebook where people could write their memories and condolences, sat on the counter of a North Vancouver development on which Saket had worked. Saket’s employer, Denna Homes, planned to hold a memorial on Saturday.

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Coquitlam family Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi, Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi, and Niloofar Razzaghi

Three members of a Port Coquitlam family have also been identified as victims – husband and wife Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi and Niloofar Razzaghi, and their teenaged son Kamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi.

Shahram Hamraz of Coquitlam knew the family through the Tri-City Iranian Cultural Society, an organization where Ardalan, the husband and father, served as a board member.

Hamraz described the family as “very positive in the community.”

“They were so active in our community… and it’s a small community,” Hamraz said. “So it is a loss, really.”

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Brother and sister Zeynab Asadi Lari and Mohammad Asadi Lari

Brother and sister Zeynab Asadi Lari and Mohammad Asadi Lari, both former UBC students, also died in the crash.

According to social media posts, the brother and sister have recently been living in the Toronto area.

UBC president and vice-chancellor Santa Ono said Zeynab enrolled at UBC in 2016 in the Bachelor of Science program, with a biology major, while Mohammad graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in cellular, anatomical and physiological sciences with honours standing.

Mohammad was also co-founder of the STEM fellowship, a youth-run Canadian non-profit organization that uses mentors to give students skills in data science and scholarly writing.

“On behalf of the UBC community, I wish to express my deepest condolences to their family, friends and loved ones,” Ono said in a statement. “This is a challenging time for UBC’s Iranian students, faculty and staff and we understand developments internationally and domestically in Iran are a cause of deep concern for them.”

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What people are saying

B.C. Premier John Horgan said the province joins with nations around the world in “mourning this tragic loss of life.”

President of Langara College Lane Trotter offered condolences to the family of Dadashnejad on behalf of the community at Langara.

Trotter said Delaram was an international student taking university transfer classes, and was flying home to Vancouver after a visit with family in Tehran.

“The loss of one of our students is one that impacts our entire community. Our Counselling and International Education team will be providing support for our students, while staff and faculty have access to our Employee and Family Assistance Program,” Trotter said, in a statement.

“We are heartbroken over the fatal tragedy that took place; our thoughts and prayers are with those in mourning from this incident.”

B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson said he was “deeply saddened by the news” and offered condolences to the families.

“My thoughts and condolences are with the loved ones of everyone who was on board Flight 752. We do know some of those lost were from British Columbia’s Persian community, and we are offering our support to the entire community during this terrible time,” he said, in a statement Wednesday.

“On behalf of the entire BC Liberal Caucus, I want to extend my deepest and most sincere sympathies to the friends and loved ones of all the passengers and flight crew.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “shocked and saddened” and said the Canadian government will work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated.

— With files from Reuters