‘Losing them is a tragedy’: Several Montrealers killed in Iran plane crash

MONTREAL (CityNews) – At least six Montrealers have been identified as victims of a plane crash in Iran.

CityNews has confirmed that Siavash Ghafouri-Azar and Sara Mamani, a couple who went to Iran to get married died when the plane crashed on Tuesday evening.

Another couple, Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh, who was on vacation in Iran also died.

Farzaneh’s employer, Lemay, issued a statement, which read in part:

“Although Aida had been with Lemay for less than three months, she had more than made her mark on the team. A building energy specialist who was also working on her second PhD, she impressed many with her intelligent, structured approach and transdisciplinary expertise. Colleagues also remember her ever-present smile.”

Faraz Falsafi was also identified as one of the men killed.

He lived in Montreal as a student at McGill University. He moved to Toronto for work and was in Iran for his sister’s wedding.

A sixth Montrealer, Shahab Raana, has also been identified as one of the people killed.

A friend of Raana said he had posted a message to an Iranian group on the Telegram app, saying he had managed to get on a flight out of Tehran.

“I am inside the Ukrainian plane right now, on my way to Montreal. Awaiting takeoff. For the time being, all a go for the flight,” the message said.

CityNews spoke with a professor at Concordia University, who was a supervisor of one of the victims between 2016 and 2018.

“(He was a) very serious, very dedicated student. He came here as a permanent resident in Canada from Iran and his objective was clearly to get a diploma from Concordia to get a job in Montreal in Aerospace,” Professor Christian Moreau said of Siavash Ghafouri-Azar.

Moreau is a PhD in Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace engineering at Concordia University. He said Ghafouri-Azar and Mamani met at the school.

“They met here and they were going to Iran to get Married.”

Several people from the Montreal-Iranian community have reacted to the news, saying it is an absolute tragedy what happened.

“We see many young, Iranian bright researchers (and) teachers who have moved to Montreal in the past couple of years and once again, losing them, it’s a tragedy,” Amir Naimi, a Canadian-Iranian resident of Montreal told CityNews.

“It was just tragic to hear because now Ukraine is in the news with Trump and all that,” said Eugina Kindrat, a Montreal resident of Ukraine descent. “As soon as you hear something about Ukraine — Ukraine is not really a centre of discussions around the table. It brought a lot of interest.

“Now, when we hear about what happened with this airplane crash, it’s really tragic, regardless of nationality.”

Montreal’s mayor also took to Twitter to express her sadness after the crash.

Cette nouvelle est bouleversante. Mes pensées accompagnent les familles et les proches des Montréalais.e.s et de toutes les victimes de cette terrible tragédie. Nous sommes de tout coeur avec vous. https://t.co/34DrhsRaho #polmtl

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) January 8, 2020

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the plane was carrying 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 11 Ukrainian passengers and crew, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons.