Several GTA residents, including multiple students in Toronto and York Region, are among the 63 Canadians who were killed in a plane crash outside of Iran’s capital on Wednesday morning.
All 176 people on board Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 were killed when the jet crashed outside of Tehran shortly after takeoff.
[IN PHOTOS: Images from the scene of a deadly Ukrainian airliner crash near Tehran]
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has confirmed that "a number of TDSB students and their family members" are among the victims along with a family member of at least one employee.
TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird confirmed that Maya Zibaie, a Grade 10 student at Northern Secondary School, has been identified as one of those students killed.
At Northern Secondary School on Wednesday, Principal Adam Marshall described Zibaie as someone who was a constant “presence in the hallways” and “would always say hello with a big smile on her face.”
“Maya’s close friends are absolutely devastated. We have lots of supports in place for them but it is really difficult for anybody. especially I think teenage friends to deal with these things,” he told CP24. “The school community as a whole I think is in a bit of shock. We are still trying to digest this and what it means to have something that happens to far away hit so close to home.”
Sophie Emami, a senior kindergarten student at Lillian Public School, Arsam Niazi, a Grade 6 student at Pleasant Public School, Arnica Niazi, a Grade 3 student at Finch Public School, and Rahmtin Ahmadi, a Grade 4 student at Muirhead Public School, were also on board the plane, the Toronto District School Board confirmed Thursday.
List of TDSB students killed in crash likely to grow
Bird said the list of students killed in the crash may still grow, though he said that efforts will be taken to "inform school communities" before making the names of victims public.
In the meantime, flags at the affected schools and all TDSB administrative buildings will be lowered to half-mast in honour of the lives that were lost.
"On behalf of the Toronto District School Board, we offer our sincere condolences to their friends, family, teachers and classmates," read a joint statement released by John Malloy, the TDSB's director of education, and TDSB Chair Robin Pilkey.
"Social work staff are already working with the impacted schools and we are supporting the victims’ loved ones in any way we can."
[IN PHOTOS: Some of the victims of the Ukrainian airliner crash who have been identified so far]
The York Region District School Board has also said some of its students were on board the plane but would not confirm an exact number.
One of those students is believed to be 18-year-old Arad Zarei, a student at Richmond Green Secondary School in Richmond Hill.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon Zarei’s father Mehrzad Zarei said that his son was visiting the city of Shiraz over the holidays to reunite with his mother, whom he had not seen since the summer of 2018.
He said that at the time of the crash he was “keen to resume his last semester of studies” at Richmond Green Secondary School.
“He was the apple of my eye and his energetic demeanor 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,” he wrote. “I am gratfeul to his numerous friends and teachers who have reached out to me to offer their sympathies and support during this difficuilt time.”
In a statement, York Region District School Board said that they are “heartbroken” by the crash and join “our families and communities in grieving.”
The board said that its “focus in the coming days will be on supporting students and their families affected by the news of this incident.”
“Those schools directly affected will be supported by school board staff members specifically trained to support with tragic incidents,” the statement notes.
Married couple and mother and son also among those killed
Canadian officials have not provided a comprehensive list of citizens killed in the crash however confirmations are trickling in from friends, family, and employers of the victims.
CTV News Toronto has confirmed that married couple Iman Ghaderpanah, a mortgage specialist, and Parinaz Ghaderpanah, an RBC employee, are among the GTA residents who died in the crash.
Other GTA victims confirmed by CTV News Toronto include Aurora dentist Parisa Eghbalian and her nine-year-old daughter Reera Esmaeilion, Richmond Hill realtor Suzan Golbabapour and Richmond Hill optometrist Dr. Neda Sadighi.
Toronto resident Behnaz Khoei Ebrahimi and her nine-year-old son Rahmtin Ahmadi were also killed in the tragic incident, according to CTV News.
Ebrahimi worked at the Toronto offices of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. A spokesperson for MPAC said in a statement that she was a “highly valuable and respected member” of the team who will be “greatly missed by all those who had the opportunity to work with her.”
Meanwhile, Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) President Harvey Bischof issued a statement Wednesday, confirming that an employee of the union's provincial office in Toronto, identified as Alina Tarbhai, was also killed.
"Alina was a valued employee, and part of a tightly-knit team at provincial office. She was respected and well-liked by all. Her passing represents a profound loss for all of us who worked with her," Bischof's statement read.
"On behalf of OSSTF/FEESO members across the province, I want to extend our heartfelt condolences to Alina’s family, and to the families of all who were taken in this tragedy."
Alina’s mother Afifa Tarbhai was also on the flight.
Toronto sign dimmed
In a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon, Toronto Mayor John Tory said that he hopes residents work “alongside the communities and people impacted by this tragedy to provide support and comfort during this difficult time.”
Tory said that the Toronto sign will be dimmed in honour of the victims and flags will be lowered at city hall and the Etobicoke, Scarborough, East York and North York civic centres.
“We now know residents from Toronto were on this flight and have lost their lives – they were our friends, our neighbours, our classmates, our co-workers, and our loved ones,” he said. “Our hearts are with all those who are now in mourning here in our city, across the GTA, across Canada, and around the world.”
Large number of university students among victims
Included in the Canadians killed in the crash were a large number of university students.
In a statement published online on Wednesday morning, The University of Guelph confirmed that two of its students, identified as Ghanimat Azhdari and Milad Ghasemi Ariani, perished in the crash.
The university said Azhdari was visiting family in Iran over the holidays and was on her way back to Ontario.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of two of our students,” university president Franco Vaccarino said in a written statement released Wednesday.
“Our thoughts go out to the families of these two students and to anyone else affected by this tragedy. Any loss to our campus community touches all of us.”
Western University said that four of its students were killed in the crash and the University of Ottawa said three of its students died. The names of the victims were not provided by either university.
The University of Toronto also confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that six of its students, identified as Mojtaba Abbasnezhad, Mohammad Asadi Lari, Zeynab Asadi Lari, Mohammad Amin Beiruti, Mohammad Amin Jebelli, and Mohammad Saleheh, were listed on the flight manifest
"We have learned, with profound sorrow, that several U of T students were among the 176 people killed in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in Tehran, Iran," U of T President Meric Gertler said earlier today in a statement.
“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto community, I want to say how deeply saddened we are, and how concerned we are for the families and friends of those who lost their lives. We are continuing to gather information, and taking care to respect the privacy and wishes of all involved."
Flags at U of T's three campuses will be flown at half-mast, the university said.
A vigil was held in the campus on Wednesday night to remember the victims.
"It has been a rough night for them. Many of them were close friends," said Mohsen Khaniki of the Iranian Canadian Congress.
"We have lost many good students, many parents, many children and they're all shocked."
A friend of Sadaf Hajiaghavand confirmed that she was among those killed in the crash. Aida Tabesh told CTV News Toronto that Hajiaghavand, a human resources student at York University, went to Iran to visit her family.
“She was a loving soul who was gone too soon,” said Tabesh.
"On behalf of the York community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the student killed in this tragic event. We are reaching out to the individual’s family and to campus groups to offer our support during this time of sorrow," York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton said in a statement.
CTV News has confirmed that 22-year-old Darya Toghian was among the victims of the crash. She was flying back for her second semester at George Brown College after spending the holidays in Iran.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the student’s family on behalf of the George Brown community and we will offer any support we are able to provide,” said George Brown College President Anne Sado in a statement.
A member of the Centennial College faculty, as well as his young family, were killed in the crash, the college confirmed on Wednesday.
The college said in a tweet that Dr. Razgar Rahimi, his spouse, Farideh Gholami and their three-year-old son, Jiwan, were all killed in the crash.
CTV News has also confirmed that a couple from Edmonton, identified as Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshman and their daughters Darya and Darina Mousavi, are among the victims.
Siavash Ghafouri-Azarand and Sara Maman, a Montreal couple who were both former engineering students at Concordia, are among the dead along with Vancouver doctors Naser Pourshabanoshibi and Firouzeh Madani.
The cause of the deadly crash has not yet been determined.
-With files from The Canadian Press
