TORONTO —
A Ukrainian Boeing-737 jet carrying 176 people, including 63 Canadians, has crashed in Iran.
There were no survivors, according to officials.
Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 to Kyiv went down minutes after taking off from Tehran’s main international airport on Wednesday morning. The plane crashed into farmland outside of the capital, scattering debris across the area.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, however, Iranian authorities said they suspect a mechanical error was to blame.
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Here’s what we know so far about the Canadian victims:
MOUSAVI FAMILY
Four members of the Mousavi family from Edmonton were on the flight. They were: Pedram Mousavi (father), Mojgan Daneshmand (mother), Darya Mousavi (daughter) and Darina Mousavi (daughter).
Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand were engineering professors at the University of Alberta. The flight’s manifest lists the daughters’ birth years as 2010 for Darina and 2005 for Darina.
Payman Parseyan, a member of Edmonton’s Iranian community, says many Iranians fly back to the country over the holidays to visit family. “As soon as we heard about the plane going down, I immediately thought that this is a flight that’s leaving the country,” he told CTV News Edmonton.
GHANIMAT AZHDARI
Azhdari was born in 1983 and was a PhD student at the University of Guelph. A statement from the university said she was on her way back to Guelph after visiting her family in Iran over the December break. “In addition to her scholarly work, Ghanimat was a proud member of the Qashaqi tribe in Iran and a powerful and passionate young leader, at the international level, in advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” reads the statement from the university’s department of geography, environment and geomatics.
She was also a member of the ICAA Consortium, a global organization promoting recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas and Territories.
MILAD GHASEMI ARIANI
Ariani was a PhD student at the University of Guelph’s department of marketing and consumer studies. In a statement, the university said Ariani was returning to Guelph from visiting Iran.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of two of our students,” said University of Guelph president Franco Vaccarino. “Our thoughts go out to the families of these two students and to anyone else affected by this tragedy.”
BEHNAZ KHOEI EBRAHIMI & RAHMTIN AHMADI
Behnaz Khoei Ebrahimi worked for the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation in Toronto. Her son, Rahmtin Ahmadi, was also on the flight. Ahmadi’s birth year is listed on the manifest as 2010.
NASER POURSHABANOSHIBI & FIROUZEH MADANI
Both medical doctors, this couple from North Vancouver was in Iran for the holidays, visiting Naser’s family. They’re survived by their 20-year-old daughter, Kimia, who returned from Iran earlier this week to prepare for classes.
SHEKOUFEH CHOUPANNEJAD
Choupannejad was an obstetrician-gynecologist in Edmonton. Staff at the north end clinic she worked at confirmed her identity to CTV News.
FOROUGH KHADEM
Khadem worked at research organization Mitacs, in Winnipeg. Mitacs confirmed in a statement that she has been working as a business development specialist since 2016, “and had been a passionate supporter of innovation in Manitoba ever since.”
Mitacs’ Chief Business Development Officer Eric Bosco added: “We will remember Forough’s passion for Mitacs, enthusiasm for innovation in Manitoba, and her positive outlook on life. We will miss her humour, her kindness, and her warm spirit.”
ALINA TARBHAI
Tarbhai was an administrative clerk for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation. “She was respected and well-liked by all. Her passing represents a profound loss for all of us who worked with her,” reads a statement by the federation.
HAMIDI FAMILY
This family of 3 from Metro Vancouver was among the victims, a friend of the family confirmed with CTV News. They were: Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi (father), Niloufar Ebrahim (mother) and Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi (son).
SIAVASH GHAFOURI-AZAR & SARA MAMANI
A couple from Montreal, Ghafouri-Azar and Mamani were both former engineering students at Concordia University.
