Edmonton mother and daughter among 18 Canadians killed in Ethiopian Airlines plane crash

An Edmonton woman and her daughterare among 18 Canadians confirmed dead in a plane crash on Sundayin Ethiopia.

A family member confirmed toCBC News thatAmina Ibrahim Odowa, 33, and her daughter Sofia Abdulkadir, 5,were killed when an EthiopianAirlines jetliner crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa.

Odowa's two surviving daughters, ages threeand seven, are in the care of their grandmother in Edmonton.

None of the 157 passengers and crew members on board survived.

• Ethiopian Airlines crash kills all 157 on board, including 18 Canadians

The plane was destined for Nairobi. After takeoff, the Ethiopian Airlines pilot sent out a distress call and was cleared to return to the airport.

It's not knownyet what caused theBoeing 737 MAX 8to crash.

Odowa's brother,MohamedAli, learned early Sunday morning thathis sister and niece were on the flight. They flew out ofToronto a day earlier. He spoke to Odowajust before take-off.

"I told her good luck. You know, see you soon," said Ali.

'Such devastating news'

Odowaand her daughter were on their way to Kenyato visitfamily. Their flight from Toronto landed in Addis Ababa at around 7 a.m. local time. Theywere scheduled to fly to Nairobi75 minutes later.

WhenAli heard aboutthe crash, he said he hopedOdowaand her daughter had missedthe tight connection, as he had often donein the past.But their flight to Nairobi wasdelayed, giving them enough time to make it.

A call to the airline confirmed Ali's sister and niece were on the downed flight.

"I was shocked," Ali said."Then I knew it was real. I called my mom and it was very shocking for her too. Such devastating news. It's something you don't expect ... yesterday they were with you here, today they're no more."

Ali hadconsidered joining themandhad even reserved a spot on the same flight but ultimately cancelled.

Ali smiled as he talked about hisniece a funny,spiritedyoung girl whoonce tried to convince him totravel with her to Kenya to see friends she made on a previous visit.

"She was the favourite child of everybody in the family. She had her own mind, and she always wanted things done the way she liked," he said. "She was amazing."

'She was the favourite child of everybody in the family. She had her own mind, and she always wanted things done the way she liked- MohamedAli

His sister, who wasthe youngest sibling,lived with their mother. Odowalooked afterher momand worked for a small company in Edmonton for nine years, Ali said.

"She's always the one who is the connection point with our family," he said. "And she has a lot of friends. I mean if you look at the Internet today and you type her name, you will hear from everybody how amazing she was."

Ali says his family is nowtrying to seek closure by finding a way to bring home the remains of their loved ones.

"We don't know what's going to happen next," Ali said. "Everything is in the dark."

People from around the world, including Alberta Premier RachelNotley, offered their condolences on social media tothe victims' families.