EDMONTON, Canada — At least 27 Edmontonians are believed to be among the 176 people killed — including 63 Canadians — when Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752 crashed shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Iran early on Jan. 8. It was a Kyiv-bound plane.
Many were believed to be Iranian-Canadian students returning to school after the winter break. There were also professors, dentists, doctors, a software engineer and a real-estate agent.
The disaster is the largest recent loss of life among Canadians since an Air India flight exploded in 1985 over the Atlantic Ocean, killing 268 Canadians. The majority of the passengers on the UIA Boeing 737, including the Canadian citizens, appear to be Iranian. According to a 2016 census, around 210,000 of Canada’s 38 million inhabitants are of Iranian descent.
“The number of Iranian-Edmontonians that perished in the Tehran plane crash is now confirmed at 27,” said Payman Parseyan, a member of Edmonton’s Iranian community. “That’s roughly 1 percent of the entire Edmonton-Iranian population. Absolutely terrible.” Parseyan told the Kyiv Post he personally knew at least seven of the victims.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during the press conference on Jan. 8 that 138 passengers onboard the crashed jet had been set to connect through Canada on a later flight.
“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, who offered his condolences to the families of those who died in the crash.
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to those who have lost family, friends, and loved ones in this tragedy,” he said in a statement.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Jan. 8 that, “as more information becomes available, including regarding dual citizens, (the number of Canadian victims) could change. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in this tragic event, including citizens of a number of other countries.”
At the same time, Canada’s assistance to families of the victims might be severely hampered by the fact the country hasn’t had diplomatic representation in Iran since 2012, when the Conservative government closed the Canadian Embassy in Tehran and withdrew staff, citing unspecified security threats. Currently, there are no resident Government of Canada offices in the country.
Here’s what we know so far about the Canadian victims:
Mousavi family
University of Alberta lecturers Pedram Mousavi (L) and Mojgan Daneshmand (R) are among the 63 Canadian victims.
Pedram Mousavi and his wife, Mojgan Daneshmand, along with daughters Daria and Dorina, are among the dead, Masoud Ardakani, associate chair of the University of Alberta’s electrical and computer engineering department, said on Jan. 8.
Mousavi and Daneshmand were both professors in the department of engineering.
Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gorji
Newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gorji, 25, are among 30 Edmontonians killed after a plane crashed shortly after taking off in Tehran.
Arash Pourzarabi, a champion of the World Computing Olympiad and graduate of Alberta University, and his wife Pouneh Gorji, another Alberta University graduate, had just married in Iran a couple of days before the crash.
Amir Hossein Saeedinia
Amir Hossein Saeedinia was a PhD student at the University of Alberta.
Amir Hossein Saeedinia was a PhD student at the Center for Design of Advanced Materials of the University of Alberta.
Nasim Rahmanifar
Nasim Rahmanifar, born in 1994, was a graduate research assistant at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. Her studies were focused on mechanical engineering.
Shekoufeh Choopannejad and her daughters Sara and Saba Saadat
Shekoufeh Choopannejad (L) and daughters Sara Saadat and Saba Saadat were among the victims.
Shekoufeh Choopannejad was an obstetrician and gynecologist at Northgate Medical Clinic in Edmonton. She was in her late 50s and was on the plane with her two daughters, Saba and Sara Saadat. Both daughters were born Esfahan, Iran but lived in Edmonton, according to news reports.
Sara, born in 1996, was the University of Alberta student and earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. Saba, born in 1998, studied at the same university, earning a Bachelor of Science before entering the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
Elnaz Nabiyi was a graduate research assistant fellow with the Alberta School of Business in Edmonton.
Mohammad Mahdi Elyasi was a former Edmontonian who graduated from the University of Alberta in 2017. Elyasi then moved to Toronto and worked as a mechanical designer.
President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta David H. Turpin issued a statement today, saying “it is with profound sadness that we have learned that several members of our University of Alberta community died in last night’s tragic airplane crash of Flight PS752 in Iran.”
“This is a devastating loss for the University of Alberta. Ours is a closely interconnected community, and we grieve with everyone touched by this terrible loss— friends, classmates, roommates, professors, students, mentors, and colleagues,” Turpin wrote.
Iman Aghabali
Iman Aghabali was a Ph.D. student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Iman Aghabali was a Ph.D. student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
“We prayed and prayed but this is how insane this world is, many of my Sharif friends were in the flight! I cannot even imagine how fearful they were before the last moments to the expulsion! I cannot believe that Iman Ab sent his last photo without knowing it literally would be his last!” Aghabali’s friend Orod Kaveh wrote on his Facebook page. “It’s right, I don’t have enough tears to cry for them, raise your voice in sadness and help me cry a river for all of them… you were loved, you were innocent!”
Ghanimat Azhdari
PhD student Ghanimat Azhdari at the University of Guelph was one of 176 people killed in a plane crash in Iran on Jan. 8, 2020.
PhD student Ghanimat Azhdari at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada was one of 176 people killed in a plane crash in Iran. Azhdari, 36, was doing research in the college of social and applied human sciences at the university, mapping and cataloging Iran’s indigenous nomadic communities. “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.
Milad Ghasemi Ariani
Milad Ghasemi Ariani was pursuing a PhD degree at the University of Guelph.
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.”
Mehdi Sadeghi, Anisa Sadeghi and Bahareh Haj Esfandiari
The Manitoba family of three: Mehdi Sadeghi, 43, Anisa Sadeghi, 10, and Bahareh Haj Esfandiari, 41, were among the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran.
Forough Khadem
Forough Khadem, 38, also died in the crash. The former Ph. D student at the University of Manitoba worked in the field of immunology and worked with CancerCare Manitoba, according to media reports.
