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Iranian Crash Claims Victims From at Least Seven Countries Iran Plane Crash Victims Came From at Least Seven Countries
(about 3 hours later)
MONTREAL — There was a prominent Iranian writer who had emigrated with his family to Canada a few years ago. There were children traveling with their families. MONTREAL — There was a prominent Iranian writer who had emigrated with his family to Canada a few years ago. There was a newlywed couple. And there were international students and children traveling with their families.
The victims of a crash Wednesday morning of a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 included passengers and crew from at least seven countries, among them 63 Canadians. The victims of a crash Wednesday morning of a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 included passengers and crew members from at least seven countries, among them as least 63 Canadians.
It is unclear what caused the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines flight, which was bound for Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and went down shortly after taking off from Tehran. All 176 people on board were killed. Conflicting theories of the cause were circulating on Wednesday. It is unclear what caused the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines flight, which was bound for Kyiv and went down shortly after taking off from Tehran. All 176 people on board were killed. Conflicting theories of the cause were circulating on Wednesday.
The crash happened amid intensifying tensions between the United States and Iran, which on Tuesday attacked two bases in Iraq that house United States troops. The crash happened amid intensifying tensions between the United States and Iran, which on Wednesday attacked two bases in Iraq that house United States troops.
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, said the victims included 82 Iranians and 11 Ukrainians, including nine Ukrainian crew members. Sixty-three passengers were from Canada, 10 from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, three from Germany and three from Britain, he said.Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, said the victims included 82 Iranians and 11 Ukrainians, including nine Ukrainian crew members. Sixty-three passengers were from Canada, 10 from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, three from Germany and three from Britain, he said.
In Canada, the crash was one of the worst losses of Canadian life in an aviation disaster. In 1985, a bomb exploded and killed 329 people aboard an Air India flight, mostly Canadians of Indian ancestry. For Canada, the crash was one of the worst losses of life in an aviation disaster. In 1985, a bomb exploded and killed 329 people aboard an Air India flight, most of them Canadians of Indian ancestry.
Among the dead in Wednesday’s crash were the wife and daughter of the Iranian writer Hamed Esmaeilion, a dentist who was celebrated as a leading writer of his generation. Canada has one of the world’s largest shares of the Iranian diaspora; 210,000 people who identify as Iranian live in the country, and many of them fled their homeland after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Others arrived more recently, including for education or employment opportunities. They live largely in the suburbs of the country’s three largest cities — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Many among the 210,000 people who identify as Iranian in Canada fled Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. They live largely in the suburbs of the country’s three largest cities — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Mahsha Alimardani, a doctoral student at Oxford University, wrote on Twitter that the route from Tehran to Toronto, through Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, had become affordable for many Iranian-Canadians who did not have access to direct flights.
Payman Parseyan, a leading member of Edmonton’s Iranian community told the CBC, the Canadian broadcaster, that the community was devastated by the crash, whose victims, he said, included a 9- and 14-year-old girl as well as international students from Iran. Among the dead in Wednesday’s crash of Flight 752 were the wife and daughter of the Iranian writer Hamed Esmaeilion, a dentist who was celebrated as a leading writer of his generation.
He said Iranian-Canadians had been glued to their television sets and communicating in search of news about loved ones. This is “devastating” for the Canadian Iranian community, he told the broadcaster. Payman Parseyan, an Iranian immigrant in Edmonton, told the CBC, the Canadian broadcaster, that the crash was “devastating” for the close-knit Iranian community. People were glued to their televisions sets and seeking one another out in search of news about loved ones.
Laing O’Rourke, a construction company based in Britain, confirmed in an email on Wednesday that Saeed Tahmasebi Khademsadi, 35, who worked at the company office in Dartford, died in the crash. Mr. Tahmasebi, a civil engineer at Laing O’Rourke, was a doctoral candidate at Imperial College in London, and a Farsi speaker, according to his Linkedin page. The victims, he said, included two girls, 9 and 14, as well as international students from Iran. As many as 30 victims came from Edmonton.
Sam Zokaei, a reservoir engineer for BP, was also killed in the crash, the company confirmed in an email on Wednesday. Mr. Zokaei, an Arabic and Persian speaker who was on holiday in Iran, had been with BP for the past 14 years, according to his Linkedin profile. Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, told The Edmonton Journal that the victims included doctors as well a newlywed couple, Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gorji, 25, computer science students who had traveled to Iran for their wedding.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada offered his condolences to the families of the victims, saying Canadians were shocked and saddened. “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,” he said in a statement. “It’s been a shock,” he told the newspaper. “I know some of these people in person. I had a chance to see them at different, parties, gatherings.”
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said he was in touch with the Ukrainian government and would keep Canadians informed as the situation becomes clearer. “I can tell you pretty much every Iranian in Edmonton knew some of them,” Mr. Akbari said. “So it’s very devastating.”
“Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims, including many Canadians,” he wrote on Twitter. Arash Azrahimi, owner of Rosewood Photography in North Vancouver, said several of the victims had been his customers. He said two of them, Mohammadhossein and Zeynab Asadilari, both in their 20s, were children of a member of the Iranian government and had been living in Vancouver. Other victims who lived in the Vancouver area included a couple, who were both doctors, and the wife and daughter of a bakery owner, he said.
The Canadian ministry of foreign affairs has warned Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, citing “the volatile security situation, the regional threat of terrorism and the risk of arbitrary detention.” Majid Mahichi, a Vancouver-based television producer of a Farsi language program, knew the couple, Firouzeh Madini and Naser Pourshabanoshibi, for 40 years.
Mr. Mahichi said they had gone to Iran to visit their parents and had one daughter, who did not travel with them. They moved to Canada about five years ago. “They were a very happy couple,” he said. “They were so happy to have moved to Canada.”
He said, “We have some friends who just wanted to visit their families — but now unfortunately, their bodies are coming back.”
The University of Waterloo in Ontario said two doctoral students, Marzeih Foroutan and Mansour Esnaashary, had also been killed.
Another doctoral student, Ghanimat Azhdari of the University of Guelph in Ontario, was also among the dead.
The ICCA Consortium, an international association dedicated to promoting Indigenous communities, said Ms. Azhdari had been a member of the Qashqai people, and had “worked tirelessly” to help document the territories and life of Iranian nomadic tribes.
“We are in utter disbelief and heartbroken at the sudden loss of such a beautiful young life — a true force of nature, and one of the ICCA Consortium’s most cherished flowers,” the consortium said in its statement.
Laing O’Rourke, a construction company based in Britain, confirmed in an email on Wednesday that Saeed Tahmasebi Khademsadi, 35, who worked at the company office in Dartford, died in the crash. Mr. Tahmasebi, a civil engineer at Laing O’Rourke, was a doctoral candidate at Imperial College in London, and a Farsi speaker, according to his LinkedIn page.
Sam Zokaei, a reservoir engineer for BP, was also killed in the crash, the company confirmed in an email on Wednesday. Mr. Zokaei, an Arabic and Persian speaker who was on holiday in Iran, had been with BP for the past 14 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada offered his condolences to the families of the victims. “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,” he said in a statement.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said that he was in touch with the Ukrainian government and that he would keep Canadians informed as the situation became clearer. “Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims, including many Canadians,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Canadians to avoid nonessential travel to Iran, citing “the volatile security situation, the regional threat of terrorism and the risk of arbitrary detention.”
“Canadians, particularly dual Canadian-Iranian citizens, are at risk of being arbitrarily questioned, arrested and detained,” the travel warning says. “Iran does not recognize dual nationality and Canada will not be granted consular access to dual Canadian-Iranian citizens. Canadian-Iranian dual citizens should carefully consider the risks of traveling to Iran.”“Canadians, particularly dual Canadian-Iranian citizens, are at risk of being arbitrarily questioned, arrested and detained,” the travel warning says. “Iran does not recognize dual nationality and Canada will not be granted consular access to dual Canadian-Iranian citizens. Canadian-Iranian dual citizens should carefully consider the risks of traveling to Iran.”
Transport Canada, the country’s transport ministry, wrote on Twitter that Air Canada, the only Canadian air carrier that operates in the region, “had altered its routes to ensure the security of its flights into and over the Middle East.” Transport Canada, the country’s transport ministry, said that Air Canada, the only Canadian air carrier that operates in the region, “had altered its routes to ensure the security of its flights into and over the Middle East.”
“We are monitoring the situation closely in the Middle East and are in close contact with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration,” it wrote in a separate tweet. “We are monitoring the situation closely in the Middle East and are in close contact with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration,” it wrote in a separate Twitter post.
Megan Specia and Iliana Magra in London contributed reporting. Megan Specia and Iliana Magra contributed reporting from London, and Tracy Sherlock from Vancouver.