British Columbia
Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi
Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi
Niloofar Razzaghi
Hossein (Daniel) Saket
Fatemeh (Faye) Kazerani
Naser Pourshaban Oshibi
Firouzeh Madani
Ayeshe Pourghaderi
Fatemah Pasavand
Delaram Dadashnejad
Mehran Abtahi
Roja Omidbakhsh
Family of three
A family of three — Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi, his wife, Niloofar Razzaghi, and their teenage son, Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi — were on their way home to Vancouver after a two-week holiday. Kei Esmaeilpour, a family friend and head of the Civic Association of Iranian Canadians, confirmed their deaths.
Couple were visiting family
Hossein (Daniel) Saket and Fatemeh (Faye) Kazerani were a couple from North Vancouver. He worked as an engineer, and she was a hygienist.
Married family doctors
Another couple from North Vancouver, Naser Pourshaban Oshibi and Firouzeh Madani were both family doctors who were struggling through the licensing process in Canada.
Mother and daughter
Ayeshe Pourghaderi was travelling with her teenage daughter, Fatemah Pasavand, who attended Carson Graham Secondary School. The family owned Amir Bakery, a traditional Persian bakery in North Vancouver.
“They are a very hard-working family. They came to Canada for a better life, and this happened.”
– Arash Azrahimi, neighbour
Delaram Dadashnejad
Delaram was an international student studying nutrition at Langara College. She was flying home to Vancouver after a visit with family in Tehran.
Her friend, Sia Ahmadi, said she had originally planned to fly home on Dec. 17 but missed that flight after her student visa did not arrive on time, and booked Wednesday’s flight instead.
“She was a 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 I was like, I hope it’s not.”
– Ksenia Ivanova, friend
Mehran Abtahi
Mehran Abtahi
Mehran was a post-doctoral fellow in the civil engineering department at UBC. He joined the university in October, according to a statement from the school.
Roja Omidbakhsh
Roja was a first-year business student at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island.
“We’re heartbroken that this happened, and our condolences go to her family and classmates.”
– Mark Colgate, University of Victoria
Alberta
Mojgan Daneshmand
Pedram Mousavi
Daria Mousavi
Dorina Mousavi
Shekoufeh Choupannejad
Saba Saadat
Sara Saadat
Arash Pourzarabi
Pouneh Gorji
Arshia Arbabbahrami
Nasim Rahmanifar
Kasra Saati
Amir Hossein Saeedinia
Elnaz Nabiyi
Family of four
Both Mojgan Daneshmand and Pedram Mousavi were professors in the University of Alberta’s faculty of engineering, and were on the flight with numerous other Edmontonians, said Payman Parseyan, a member of the city’s Iranian community. Their two young daughters, Daria and Dorina Mousavi, also died in the crash.
Mother and two daughters
Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Northgate Centre Medical Clinic in Edmonton, was travelling with her two daughters, Saba and Sara Saadat, both of whom were students at the University of Alberta. Saba was studying medicine, and Sara was a clinical psychology student.
Newlyweds
Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gorji were graduate students in the University of Alberta’s computer science program. They had travelled to Iran for their wedding.
“It’s devastating and shocking. It’s a tragic moment.”
– Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton
Arshia Arbabbahrami
Arshia was a Grade 12 international student at Western Canada High School, and was returning to Canada after spending the holidays with his family in Iran.
Nasim Rahmanifar
Nasim was a mechanical engineering student at the University of Alberta. She was working on her master’s degree and, according to friends, was considering continuing on to a doctorate. It was her first winter in the Calgary cold.
Kasra Saati
Kasra was an aircraft mechanic formerly with Viking Air.
“His loss is deeply felt by everyone who had the opportunity to work with him.”
– Angela Murray, Viking Air
Amir Hossein Saeedinia
Elnaz Nabiyi
Manitoba
Bahareh Hajesfandiari
Mohammad Mahdi Sadeghi
Anisa Sadeghi
Farzaneh Naderi
Nozhan Sadr
Forough Khadem
Amirhossein Ghassemi
Family of three
A family of three from Winnipeg was on the plane. Mohammad Mahdi Sadeghi, who went by Mahdi, his wife, Bahareh Hajesfandiari, and their daughter, Anisa Sadeghi, were travelling together.
“It’s hard to hold together and speak about that. Everyone is heartbroken now.”
– Mojtaba Montazeri, family friend
Mother and son
Forough Khadem
Forough had a PhD in immunology from the University of Manitoba. She was described as a promising scientist.
“Forough was one of my best PhD trainees, an outstanding scientist and above [all] an amazing human being. I am utterly devastated and trying to grapple with this.”
– Jude Uzonna, associate professor of immunology, University of Manitoba
Amirhossein Ghassemi
Amirhossein had been living in Winnipeg for about a year as he pursued a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Manitoba.
“I lose a brother. Everywhere that we went, we were together. He was like a family to me.”
– Morteza Tavakoli, friend
Ontario
Parisa Eghbalian
Reera Esmaeilion
Evin Arsalani
Kurdia Molani
Hiva Molani
Hamid Setareh Kokab
Samira Bashiri
Mohammad Salehe
Zahra Hasani
Mohammadhossein Asadi Lari
Zeynab Asadi Lari
Zahra Naghibi
Mohammad Abbas Pourghaddi
Mahdieh Ghassemi
Arsan Niazi
Arnica Niazi
Iman Ghaderpanah
Parinaz Ghaderpanah
Saharnaz Haghjoo
Elsa Jadidi
Suzan Golbabapour
Faraz Falsafi
Alina Tarbhai
Afifa Tarbhai
Ghanimat Azhdari
Hadis Hayatdavoudi
Mojtaba (Suresh) Abbasnezhad
Asghar Dhirani
Neda Sadighi
Bahareh Karamimoghadam (Karami)
Pedram Jadidi
Maya Zibaie
Shadi Jamshidi
Alireza Pey
Ghazal Nourian
Milad Nahavandi
Sajedeh Saraiean
Mansour Pourjam
Fareed Arasteh
Roja Azadian
Mehraban Badiei
Alma Oladi
Saeed Kashani
Fereshteh Maleki
Amir Moradi
Farhad Niknam
Faraz Falsafi
Arad Zarei
Mahsa Amirliravi
Mohsen Salahi
Sheyda Shadkhoo
Sadaf Hajiaghavand
Sahand Sadeghi
Sophie Emami
Alvand Sadeghi
Milad Ghasemi Ariani
Siavash Maghsoudlou Estarabadi
Mehdi Eshaghian
Iman Aghabali
Mansour Esfahani
Marzieh (Mari) Foroutan
Mother and daughter
Parisa Eghbalian was a dentist. She worked in a practice she and her husband opened together. Reera Esmaeilion was their only child.
Family of three
A family of three from Ontario was also killed in the early morning crash. Omid Arsalani told CBC News that his 30-year-old sister, Evin Arsalani, was travelling back to Ajax, Ont., with her husband, Hiva Molani, and their one-year-old daughter, Kurdia.
“At this point, I don’t care how it happened, all I care is that I lost my family members.”
– Omid Arsalani, brother
Married couple
Hamid Setareh Kokab was a PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Windsor. His wife, Samira Bashiri, worked in a lab at the same school.
Married couple
Mohammad Salehe was a student at the University of Toronto. His wife, Zahra Hasani, was applying to a Master’s program in physics.
“The university’s three campuses are united in mourning the loss of the victims and offering sympathy and condolences to their families and friends.”
– University of Toronto statement
Siblings and UBC alumni
Siblings Mohammadhossein and Zeynab Asadi Lari were alumni of the University of British Columbia. They were living in Toronto.
“His heart and brain were both outsized, and he was one of the most prescient, promising and generous people I’ve known.”
– Erica Frank, professor and Canada research chair, UBC
Key members’ of campus
Zahra Naghibi was a PhD student at the University of Windsor’s Turbulence and Energy Lab. She was also chair of the IEEE Young Professionals group. Zahra’s husband, Mohammad Abbas Pourghaddi, also died in the crash.
Mother and two children
Mahdieh Ghassemi and her two children Arsan Niazi and Arnica Niazi were confirmed to be among the dead.
Couple were volunteers
Iman Ghaderpanah and Parinaz Ghaderpanah were married and were volunteers with the non-profit Iranian-Canadian group Tirgan. They had been in Iran to raise money for an upcoming arts festival. Parinaz also worked at a bank, while Iman was self-employed.
“[Parinaz was] energetic, positive, warm and very dedicated. She and her husband were deeply in love and both were very active in community affairs.”
– Mehrdad Ariannejad, co-worker of Parinaz
Mother and daughter
Saharnaz Haghjoo was a teacher at a campus of the Wali ul Asr Islamic school, while her daughter Elsa Jadidi,8, was a student there.
Suzan Golbabapour
Suzan Golbabapour
Suzan was a real estate agent at Remax Hallmark Realty and a personal trainer. She was married to Behrooz Rahimi.
Faraz Falsafi
Faraz had studied at McGill University in Montreal but lived in Toronto. His friends say he had a passion for camping and photography.
Alina Tarbhai
Alina was an administrative clerk at the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. She and her mother, Afifa, were in Iran on a religious pilgrimage.
Afifa Tarbhai
Ghanimat Azhdari
The 36-year-old PhD student at the University of Guelph was doing research in the college of social and applied human sciences, and was a member of an international group called the ICCA Consortium.
The ICCA Consortium is made up of organizations that advocate for the recognition of Indigenous Peoples and their land.
Hadis Hayatdavoudi
Hadis was was a PhD student at Western’s Electrochemistry and Corrosion Science Centre.
“You hear the news about very many people being killed or died. But once you know the person, it’s very different, especially since that person went to my university. She had a bright future.”
– Perham Alibolandi, schoolmate
Mojtaba (Suresh) Abbasnezhad
Mojtaba was a first-year international PhD student at the University of Toronto, studying electrical engineering.
Asghar Dhirani
Asghar was a respected tour leader for religious pilgrimages. His groups regularly visited some of the most sacred shrines in Shia Islam. He and his wife led more than 1,000 Muslims on these trips since 1994.
Neda Sadighi
Bahareh Karamimoghadam (Karami)
Bahareh began working for York Region in 2018 as a technologist in the Capital Planning and Delivery branch within Environmental Services. She graduated from the University of Tehran with a bachelor of science in chemical engineering, and earned a master’s degree in science from North Carolina State University.
“She is being remembered for her love of family, a dedicated and strong work ethic, and great sense of enthusiasm.”
– Bruce McGregor, York Region chief administrator officer
Pedram Jadidi
Pedram was a PhD student in civil engineering at the University of Windsor.
“He was very lovely and very ambitious.”
– Javad Sadeghi, fellow student
Maya Zibaie
Maya was a Grade 10 student at Northern Secondary School in Toronto.
“Maya was kind, happy and well liked by her peers. She was new to Canada, enjoyed attending high school, and often shared with staff how excited she was about her future and reaching her academic goals.”
– Adam Marshall, school principal
Shadi Jamshidi
Shadi was a technical sales consultant in Mississauga, Ont., a permanent resident working toward her Canadian citizenship. She had been in Tehran visiting her father.
“She was a lovely person all around, the sort of person you would like to be around, the sort of person that would cheer you up and who would be always there for you.”
– Hamid Mehr, friend
Alireza Pey
Alireza had two daughters and owned the Ottawa technology startup Message Hopper. He had been visitng his sick father in Tehran.
“He was very hard-working. We’ll all miss his smile.”
– Kevin Manesh, friend
Ghazal Nourian
Ghazal was a PhD student who had recently joined the Nanophotonic Energy Materials lab at Western University in London, Ont., and was conducting research on algorithmic fabrication of 3D nanostructures.
“I texted her two days ago and she told me she was coming back. And I texted her back and she didn’t respond.”
– Soroush Sadatifar, office mate
Milad Nahavandi
Milad was a PhD student at London, Ont.’s Western University, studying chemical and biochemical engineering.
“He was such a gifted and talented student. Other than being a genius in his subjects, he was also very supportive emotionally.”
– Erfan Pazoki, former classmate
Sajedeh Saraiean
Sajedeh was about to start her first semester as a grad student at Western University in London, Ont.
Mansour Pourjam
Mansour was an alumnus of Carleton University’s biology program, and worked as a technician at an Ottawa denture clinic. He had a 13-year-old son.
“He was lovable. He was truly someone who made you laugh.”
– Robert MacLeay, owner, Ottawa Denture and Implant Centre
Fareed Arasteh
Fareed was a PhD student at Ottawa’s Carleton University, studying molecular genetics. He had returned to Iran over the holidays to marry his longtime girlfriend, Maral.
“He was doing a fantastic job. Very nice guy. Very soft-spoken. Such a gentle soul. Whenever he was given the opportunity, he would go out of his way to help others.”
– Ashkan Golshani, Carleton University professor
Roja Azadian
Roja was supposed to have travelled to Canada for the first time with her husband, who has been studying at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. But there was a ticket mix-up, and he couldn’t get on the flight.
“She wasn’t sure if she should come to Canada, and he was just building here and getting ready for her to join him, and it’s just a really, really tragic story.”
– Leila Hojabri, friend of Roja’s husband
Mehraban Badiei
Mehraban was a University of Ottawa student who had just finished her first semester. She had been visiting her parents in Iran for the holidays.
“Mehraban was the only child in the family. They’re devastated.”
– Reza Matin, friend
Alma Oladi
Alma was a PhD student in mathematics at the University of Ottawa. She had been visiting family in Iran for the holidays.
“She always had this smile on her face. She was a nice and kind girl. She always wanted to explore places and discover new things in life and new places. She had so many plans for her life in Canada.”
– Mohsen Zandimoghadam, friend
Saeed Kashani
Saeed was working toward a PhD at the University of Ottawa. His friend said he had studied extremely hard for many years to get into university.
“We are so shocked, and I can’t accept this accident. He has so many friends here.”
– Alireza Khoshroo, Kashani’s cousin
Fereshteh Maleki
Fereshteh worked in real estate after coming to Canada two or three years ago. She had been in Tehran for her daughter’s wedding.
“She was talking about what she wanted to do and she told me, ‘Maybe 2020 will be the year I can rest more. I have my job, I have my house now, [I can] resettle completely. Maybe it’s the time we can enjoy our life in Canada.’ But it didn’t happen.”
– Saeideh Shabani, friend
Amir Moradi
Farhad Niknam
Farhad Niknam
Faraz Falsafi
Arad Zarei
Arad was a student at Richmond Green Secondary School in Richmond Hill. He was in Iran to visit his mother.
“He was the apple of my eye, and his energetic demeanour and caring personality left a lasting impression on his classmates and many friends. His loss will undoubtedly leave a gaping hole in the lives of the many he touched.”
– Mehrzad Zarei, father
Mahsa Amirliravi
Mahsa Amirliravi and Mohsen Salahi were both teachers at Cestar College in North York, Ont.
“Mohsen and Mahsa were fantastic teachers, touching countless students’ lives during their time here at the college. But they were also tremendous individuals, forming strong bonds with many staff and faculty.”
– Cestar College statement
Mohsen Salahi
Sheyda Shadkhoo
Sheyda was a chemist living in Toronto with her husband of 10 years, Hassan Shadkhoo. She was in Iran to visit her mother and sisters.
“She saved my life. I lived because of her.”
– Hassan Shadkhoo, husband
Sadaf Hajiaghavand
Sahand Sadeghi
Sophie Emami
Alvand Sadeghi
Milad Ghasemi Ariani
Milad was a PhD student at the University of Guelph.
Siavash Maghsoudlou Estarabadi
Siavash was a post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences but had left the university in 2018.
Mehdi Eshaghian
Mehdi was a PhD student at McMaster University in Hamilton.
“He was always optimistic about the future. He said he would go to work with NASA.”
– Reza Safari, friend
Iman Aghabali
Iman was a PhD student at McMaster University in Hamilton.
“He was one of the most supportive and hilarious people I knew. He was the kind of guy who could make friends with everyone, and everyone loved him.”
– Orod Kaveh, friend
Mansour Esfahani
Mansour was a researcher doing a PhD in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo. He had gone back to Iran to get married.
Marzieh (Mari) Foroutan
Marzieh (Mari) was working on a PhD in geography at the University of Waterloo.
Quebec
Siavash Ghafouri-Azar
Sara Mamani
Aida Farzaneh
Arvin Morattab
Shahab Raana
Sahan Hatefi Mostaghim
Niloufar Sadr
Mohammad Moeini
Newlyweds
Siavash Ghafouri-Azar and Sara Mamani had travelled to Iran to get married. Both had recently completed master’s degrees in engineering at Concordia University.
“He was a great guy. Very dedicated to life, to people, very, very decent guy, to be honest — one of the best I’ve seen in my life.”
– Reza Ghafouri-Azar, uncle.
Couple travelling together
Aida Farzaneh and Arvin Morattab had recetly earned their PhDs from Montreal’s École de technologie supérieure and had been travelling in Iran.
Classmates travelling together
Shahab Raana loved to play guitar and sing. He and Sahan Hatefi Mostaghim were both training to be welders at a Montreal technical college. The two classmates were travelling together.
“Shahab was definitely one of the most kind-hearted people that I’ve met.”
– Hamïdreza Zahèdi, friend
Niloufar Sadr
Mohammad Moeini
Mohammad Moeini
Mohammad worked as a draftsman at Bombardier Recreational Products in Valcourt, Que.
Nova Scotia
Masoumeh Ghavi
Mandieh Ghavi
Sharieh (Sheri) Faghihi
Fatemeh Mahmoodi
Maryam Malek
Sisters
Sisters
Masoumeh Ghavi was a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She was travelling with her younger sister, Mandieh, who was also going to study in Halifax.
Sharieh (Sheri) Faghihi
Sharieh was a dentist in Halifax. She had been visiting her mother in Iran with her daughter, who returned to Halifax a few days earlier.
Fatemeh Mahmoodi
Fatemeh was pursuing a master’s degree in finance at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Maryam Malek
Maryam Malek
Maryam was pursuing a master’s degree in finance at Dalhousie University in Halifax.