15 people with ties to B.C. confirmed dead in Iran plane crash

Fifteen people with ties to B.C., including students, doctors, academics, couples and multiple members of the same families, have been confirmed among those killed when their Ukrainian Airlines flight crashed in Iran on Wednesday.

All 176 people on board the Boeing 737 diedwhen the planewent downshortly after takeoff from Tehran, Iran's capital.

Fifty-seven were Canadian.

Among the dead with ties to B.C.:

• Delaram Dadashnejad: An international student studyingat Langara College.
• Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi, Niloofar Razzaghi, and Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi: A husband, wife and theirsonfrom Port Coquitlam, B.C.
• Hossein (Daniel) SaketandFatemeh (Faye) Kazerani: Acouple from North Vancouver.
• Ayeshe Pourghaderi and Fatemah Pasavand: A mother and daughter from North Vancouver.
• Naser Pourshaban Oshibi and Firouzeh Madani:Acouple from North Vancouver.
• Mohammadhossein Asadi LariandZeynab Asadi Lari: Siblings and alumni ofthe University of British Columbia (UBC).
• Mehran Abtahi: A postdoctoral fellow at UBC.
• Roja Omidbakhsh: A student at the University of Victoria.
• Soheila Massoumeh Moshref Razavi Moghaddam

Many of those above had strong connections with theIranian-Canadian community in Metro Vancouver, centred in the Tri-Cities and on theNorth Shore. Four were members of the UBC school community.

"People are really, really shocked by this tragedy," saidShideh Taleban, community librarian at North Vancouver City Library. "The community is trying to be with each other, to reach out to each other, to see how they can support each other."

Delaram Dadashnejad

Dadashnejad, 26, was flying home to Vancouver after a visit with family in Tehran over the holidays. Her sister and a friend confirmed her death to CBC News on Wednesday morning.

Her friend, Sia Ahmadi, said she had originally planned to fly back on Dec. 17, but missed that flight and bookedWednesday's instead after her student visa did not arrive on time.

• Have you been personally affected by the plane crash in Iran? Contact CBC News here

Ahamadi last spoke with Dadashnejad before she took off. He said they FaceTimed and she showed him a bracelet she was going to buyfor his wife, who was her best friend.

"I just couldn't believe it. She wasa great friend. She had lots of people [around her]. Everybody started talking about [the crash last night] and contacting me [asking] if it's true ... and Iwas like, Ihope it's not," saidKsenia Ivanova, Ahamadi's wife andDadashnejad's friend."It didn't sink in with me until this morning."

Dadashnejad had been studying nutrition at LangaraCollege. The school'spresident, Lane Trotter, said in a statement hewas "heartbroken" over Dadashnejad's death and that the college would be offering support to students.

Ivanovaspoke aboutDadashnejadin an interview on Wednesday:

'Everybody's in shock. Nobody can believe it.'

5 years ago

Duration 1:48

Ksenia Ivanova describes how it feels to lose her close friend, Delaram Dadashnejad, who died in a fatal plane crash in Iran on Jan. 8, 2020.

Ardalan Hamidi,Niloofar Razzaghi and Kamyar Hamidi

The family of three Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi, his wife, Niloofar Razzaghi, and their teenage son, Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi wereon their way home to Port Coquitlam, east of Vancouver, after a two-week holiday. Kei Esmaeilpour, a family friend and head of the Civic Association of Iranian Canadians, confirmed thedeaths.

"The community are in shock and are in deep sadness. They feel ... why. Why is this happening?"Esmaeilpoursaid.

Esmaeilpour said Ardalanwas an engineer who had worked on the SkyTrain system in Metro Vancouver.Razzaghiwas a two-time graduate of UBC: the university confirmed she earned her bachelor of science degree in 2010 and a bachelor of education in 2018. She was working to become a teacher.

Esmaeilpour said the couple's son, Kamyar, was a "happy, social," 15-year-old boy.

Hossein (Daniel) Saket andFatemeh (Faye) Kazerani

A couple in their 30s, Hossein (Daniel) Saketand Fatemeh (Faye) Kazeraniare also among the dead.A cousin said Saket worked as a lead structural engineer at Denna Homes, a real estate development companyin North Vancouver.Kazeranihad worked as an assistant to a cardiologist at St. Paul's Hospital. It was originally reported that she had been a dental hygienist.

Sakethelped with construction of the building he and his wife would later call home.

Farzad Taheri, whose father is a cousin ofSaket's mother, said the couple weremaking their way home from holidays in Iran, where they were visiting family.

He said theywere self-made and moved to Canada in search of a better life.

"We're all in shock ...they were all such lovely people to everyone close, far, anyone who knew them were just so fond of them and no one can believe what happened. They deserve to be acknowledgedand they have so many people who love them all over the world," he said.

"[The were] so kind ... always smiling. My wife was just saying earlier how even if no one was around, Daniel was always smiling."

Farzad Taherisayseveryone was fond of them and no one can believe what happened

'So excited about their new life in Canada'

5 years ago

Duration 1:09

Farzad Taheri speaks about his relative Daniel Saket and his wife Faye Kazerani, who were among those killed in a plane crash in Iran on Jan. 8, 2020.

Ayeshe Pourghaderi and Fatemah Pasavand

Ayeshe Pourghaderiand her teenage daughter, Fatemah Pazavand, also lost their lives. Their family owned Amir Bakery, a traditional Persian bakery in North Vancouver.

Arash Azrahimi, who was their neighbour for two years, said the daughter was a student at Carson Graham Secondary and sometimes worked for the family business.

He said the pair were permanent residents and were excited tobecomeCanadian citizens, often asking to borrow his computer to check the status of their immigration applications.

"They are a very hardworking family. They came to Canada for a better lifeand this happened," he said.

Naser Pourshaban Oshibiand Firouzeh Madani

Naser Pourshaban Oshibi and Firouzeh Madani were also killed. Both were in their 50s.

Their daughter, Kimia Pourshaban Oshibi, 19, had returned early from their family trip to Iran on the same route in order to attend classes. She is an undergraduate student in biomedical physiology at Simon Fraser University.

Pourshaban Oshibi, an only child, described her mom as a kind and smart person.

"She would make friends very, very easily and everyone would think she was their best friend," she said.

A grieving Kimia Pourshaban Oshibitalks about her parents:

Daughter remembers parents killed in Iranian plane crash

5 years ago

Duration 0:48

Kimia Pourshaban Oshibi lost both her parents when their plane crashed in Iran on Jan. 8, 2020.

She last spoke to her a few hours before the ill-fated flight.

"We talked about what she would do on the flight, and what she would do after and that's it," Pourshaban Oshibi said, her voice breaking.

The family had immigrated to Canada in 2013. Pourshaban Oshibi and Madani are trained as family doctorsand were struggling through the Canadian licensing process.

"I would just like to make a point that all of the professionals that come here from Iran go through a really tough time to provide services for Canadians," she said.

"It went through my mind that my parents had a lot of dreams and things they wanted to achieve and their time hasbeen cut short."

Zeynab Asadi Lariand Mohammadhossein Asadi Lari

The University of British Columbia (UBC) said Zeynab Asadi Lari andher brother,Mohammadhossein Asadi Lari, two of its alumni, were among the dead. The siblings, both in their 20s,had been living in Toronto.

Zeynab enrolled at UBCin the BSc program, with a biology major, in 2016. A statement from the university said Mohammadhossein graduated in 2018 with a BSc in cellular, anatomical and physiological sciences with honours standing.

Erica Frank, a professor and Canada Research Chair at UBC, wrote in an email to CBC thatMohammadhossein's death is "an astonishing and excruciating loss."

"His heart and brain were both outsizedand he was one of the mostprescient, promising, and generous people I've known," wrote Frank.

Frank wrote that she was impressed with his "extraordinary" work as an undergraduate, and had just submitted letters of recommendations for him to the University of Toronto, Cambridge, Harvard, and Stanford, and the two of them had planned on finalizing his application to Oxford.

"Mohammad's death is an enormous loss for public health globally," she wrote.

In an email, Parnian Hosseinidescribed Asadi Lari as one of her best friends. She dreamed of becoming a doctor and although she transferred to the University of Toronto, she considered Vancouver home.

"It was hard not to laugh when she was around, she had an incredible sense of humour and made sure to keep us grounded by roasting us every now and then," Hosseini said.

"No matter what was going on in her life, she would always make time for others and support them through anything. She had touched the lives of so many people and we will feel her absence in our lives.

Parsa Shani, an undergraduate student, said he knew both the siblings. He said he considered Mohammadhosseina role model and that he was a leader"in the realms of science, innovation, STEM education, [and] political apathy," having worked with Justin Trudeau to develop Canada's youth policy.

"It's heartbreaking to see that the two of them are gone together," he said.

"We lost two treasures and from their impact in their communities to their impact inthe realm of global health policy and raising youth awareness about the key issues young people face in CanadaI think we really lost two people at the forefront."

UBC said it is offering support on campus and held a vigil on campus on Thursday night.

Mehran Abtahi

Mehran Abtahi was a postdoctoral fellow in the civil engineering department at UBC. He joined the university in October, according to a statement from the school. He was in his late 30s.

Flags at both UBC campuses in B.C., in Vancouver and Kelowna, were lowered to half-mast on Thursday.

Roja Omidbakhsh

Roja Omidbakhsh was a first-year business student at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Prof.Mark ColgatetaughtOmidbakhshin his commerce class during her first term at the university and said she was pursuing her degree in the subject.

"Roja was very positive and had a keen interest in marketing," Colgate wrote in a statement released by the school on Wednesday. "We're heartbroken that this happened and our condolences go to her family and classmates."

Mobina Rafieipour saidOmidbakhsh, who was in her early 20s, was one of her best friends at the university.The two of them had met after moving to Victoria in August.

She saidOmidbakhshwas adjusting to life in a new countryand had recently found an apartment in Victoria, where she planned onmoving with another friend from Iran.Rafieipourlast spoke with her the night before what should have been her flight home.

"She was a smart girl who knew how to communicate with [others] effectively, and she was always there for me whenever I needed her," she said.

"I absolutely trusted her ...It's really hard for me to believe that she's gone forever."

UVic said it is offering support for studentson campus.

The flight and Canada's response

The Boeing 737, bound for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, burst into flames asit crashed into a field not far fromTehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.

The flight was a popular,lower-cost route for Canadians travelling toIran, in the absence of direct flights, and carried a number of students and academics heading back to Canada after the winter break.

The cause of the crash has not been determined.It was the airline's first fatal crash, and it said it was doing everything possible to establish the cause.The plane went down hours after Iran launched missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq, and officials cautioned that speculation about what happened was premature.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said138 people aboard theflightwere ultimately travelling to Canada,at least 57of them Canadian citizens.

Trudeau has saidthe Canadian government "will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians' questions are answered." Transport Minister Marc Garneausaid Canada "is offering technical assistance to the upcoming investigation."

In a tweet, B.C. Premier John Horgansaid "our hearts and thoughts are with families and friends of loved ones lost andthe Iranian-Canadian community in B.C."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said 82Iranians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, three Germans and three Britons were also among the dead.