Dozens of people with ties to Canada were among the 176 who were killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crashed after takeoff near Tehran, Iran.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that intelligence from multiple sources indicates that an Iranian missile downed the flight, though it might have been unintentional.
Here is a look at some of the victims with ties to Quebec:
READ MORE: Protest erupts after Iran admits to shooting down Ukrainian aircraft
Shahab Raana
Montrealer Shahab Raana left behind a successful career in Iran to come to Canada for a better future, his close friend Hamidreza Zanedi said.
Zanedi, who first met Raana about 15 years ago in Iran, said his friend posted a selfie from the plane on an Iranian messaging app just before takeoff. He said his friends in Iran have also been in touch with Raana’s family members, who are in a “state of shock and sorrow.”
READ MORE: Deadly toll of Iran plane crash on Canada to put ‘strain’ on relations with Trump: Frum
Zanedi said Raana had a good job in Iran as a quality control manager, and was taking courses in Montreal to improve his language skills and gain Canadian work experience.
He’d booked a trip back to Iran without telling his family because he wanted to surprise them, Zanedi said.
“I can’t even imagine his face without a smile on it,” he said.
Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh
Montreal’s École de Technologie Superieure confirmed a married couple, Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh, were among the dead.
Both had studied for PhDs at the school, and Farzaneh was lecturing in construction engineering.
“All the ETS community offers its most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of Ms. Farzanah and Mr. Morattab, as well as to their teachers and colleagues,” the school wrote in a statement.
The school said their deaths were confirmed by Canada’s consular emergency assistance centre.
Negar Borghei
Negar Borghei was travelling back home to Canada with her husband Alvand Sadeghi, his sister Sahand Sadeghi and her young niece Sofie Emami who all perished in the crash.
Borghei was commuting back and forth from Toronto to Montreal for her master’s degree in nutrition science at McGill University.
“She wasn’t just my sister, she was my best friend,” said her brother Hamidreza Borghei in a Skype interview from his home in Tehran. “She taught me everything in middle school when I had issues with math and physics. She would help me because she was so good at it.
READ MORE: Candlelight vigil held for Montrealers killed in Iran plane crash
McGill has confirmed a student and two alumni died in the plane crash, which killed everyone on board, but did not release their identities.
“I am saddened to report that a McGill student died in the tragedy,” principal and vice-chancellor Suzanne Fortier said in a statement.
“The information available so far indicates that two McGill alumni were also killed in the crash. Out of respect for the privacy of the families, McGill will not be releasing any further details about the deceased at this time.”
–With files from Globals News’ Alessia Maratta and Anne Leclair
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