Canada mourns Iran plane crash victims

Canadians are mourning the devastating loss of 63 Canadians in the plane crash in Tehran yesterday.

The Canadians included talented academics, researchers, graduate students, and professionals from the Iranian Canadian community.   

As profiles of those who lost their lives are released, the magnitude of the loss is being felt across the country.

The Canadian hailed from British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta; at least 30 of them are from Edmonton.

Not since the Air India disaster of 1985, when 280 Canadians were among the 329 killed, have so many Canadians lost their lives in an aviation disaster.

The Ukrainian International Airlines plane crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s main airport Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Vadym Prystaiko said 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians were on board. There were also 10 Swedish, four Afghan, three German and three British nationals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “shocked and saddened,” and extended their condolences to those who lost loved ones.

To honour the victims, the Canadian flag atop the Peace Tower in Ottawa is being flown at half-mast.

“Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians’ questions are answered,” said Trudeau.

“Today, I assure all Canadians that their safety and security is our top priority. We also join with the other countries who are mourning the loss of citizens.”

THE CANADIAN VICTIMS

•  Pedram Mousavi and his wife Mojgan Daneshmand, both University of Alberta professors, and their two daughters, Daria and Dorina

• Shekoufeh Choupannejad, an OB-GYN at the Northgate Centre Medical Clinic in Edmonton, and her two daughters, U of A students Saba Saadat and Sara Saadat according to CBC News

• Arash Pourzarabi and Pooneh Gorji, a recently married couple, studying at the University of Alberta, according to Global News

• Amir Hossein Saeedinia, who was supposed to start his PhD at University of Alberta shortly

• Six passengers were from Winnipeg, with ties to the University of Manitoba. Amirhossien Ghasemi, 32, Amirhossien Ghorbani, 21, Forough Khadem, 38, Mehdi Sadeghi, Bahareh Haj Esfandiari, 41, and Anisa Sadeghi, 10, are among those identified, according to Global News

• Evin Arsalani, 30, her husband, Hiva Molani, 38, and their one-year-old daughter Kurdia, from Ajax, Ont., according to CBC News 

• Parisa Eghbalian, a dentist in Aurora, Ont. and her daughter, nine-year-old Reera Esmaeilion

• University of Guelph PhD student and social science researcher, 36-year-old Ghanimat Azhdari, according to CBC News

• Milad Ghasemi Ariani, enrolled in a marketing and consumer studies program at U of Guelph, according to Global

• A University of Waterloo international student, Marizeh Foroutan, the Toronto Star reports

• Mansour Esnaashary Esfahani, also a U of Waterloo student

• Neda Sadighi, a Richmond Hill, Ont. optometrist and eye surgeon

• Suzan Golbabapour, a real estate agent at a Richmond Hill Remax

• Samira Bashiri and husband Hamid Setarah Kokab, both affiliated with University of Windsor. Bashiri was a researcher at the university while her husband was a mechanical engineering PhD student.

• Pedram Jadidi, a University of Windsor civil engineering student

• Zahra Naghibi, a PhD candidate at U of Windsor. She worked in the Turbulence and Energy Lab

• Alina Tarbhai, an administrative clerk at the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, reports CBC News, and her mother Afifa Tarbhai, both from the Toronto area

• Ali Pey, 48-year-old CEO of Message Hopper, who lived in Ottawa

• Three U of Ottawa students were also on the plane, but their names have not been released yet

• Iman Aghabali, a McMaster University grad student living in Hamilton, Ont.

• Mehdi Eshaghian, a McMaster University grad student living in Hamilton, Ont.

• Razgar Rahimi, a UOIT instructor, according to the university

• Siavash Ghafouri-Azar and his wife Sara Mamani of Montreal

• Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh, PhD graduates from École de technologie supérieure, living in Montreal

• Sisters Masoumeh Ghavi and Mandieh Ghavi, who were living in Nova Scotia. Masoumeh was an engineering student at Dalhousie University, reports Global News

• Husband and wife Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi and Niloofar Razzaghi and teenage son Hamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi. They lived in Vancouver

• Forough Khadem, who worked at CancerCare Manitoba

• Delaram Dadashnejad, an international student studying at Langara College in B.C.

• Iman Ghaderpanah, mortgage specialist, and Parinaz Ghaderpanah, RBC employee, were a married couple from the GTA

• Naser Pourshabanoshibi and Firouzeh Madani, both doctors in North Vancouver

• Mohammad Hossein (Daniel) Saket and Fatemeh (Faye) Kazerani, a couple from North Vancouver. Saket was an engineer and Kazerani a hygienist

• Mohammad Asadi Lari, 23, and sister Zeynab Asadi Lari, 21, both studying in Toronto

• Fareed Arasteh, a Carelton University student in Ottawa, working towards a PhD in biology

• Mansour Pourjam, a dental technician in Ottawa, according to the Ottawa Citizen