Newlyweds, students among 63 Canadians killed in Iran plane crash

The Ukrainian Airlines flight that crashed in Tehran on January 8 had 63 Canadians among the 176 passengers who died in the accident. According to reports, a newlywed couple was among the 63 victims of the crash. President of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, Reza Akbari, said that the newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gourji were graduate students from the University of Alberta, Canada and had come to Iran to get married.

Newlyweds among 63 Canadians killed in plane crash

Akbari said that Arash and Pouneh were on board with 4 people from their wedding party and 24 other people belonging to the Canadian City of Edmonton. According to reports, another newly married couple Siavash Ghafouri Azar and Sara Mamani were also one of the victims in the plane crash.

While talking to an international media outlet, a friend talked about one of the victims Alvand Sadeghi who had played music for guests at his wedding. Both Sadeghi and his wife died along with his sister and her daughter.

While talking to reporters, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there was an expectation that Canada would be a part of the investigation involving the crash. According to reports, the Ukrainian Airlines crash consisted of the biggest Canadian casualties since the 1985 Air India accident that claimed the lives of 268 Canadians.

Read: Ukraine President's Tribute To Crash Victims

Read: Ukraine PM Says Envoys Working With Iran On Plane Crash

Ukraine International Airlines releases statement

A statement by Ukraine International Airlines read "the airline while operating flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv disappeared from the radars just after few minutes it took off from Tehran International Airport". The statement further added that "the aircraft departed from Tehran International Airport at 6:10 am (Iran local time)." According to reports, there were 176 passengers and 9 crew members aboard the flight. The UIA officials are currently clarifying the exact number of passengers aboard, the statement read.

According to media reports citing Ali Kashani, a senior public relations official at the airport, the plane was heading towards Kyiv and had 167 passengers and nine crew on board. The Boeing 737 took off early December 8.

After a Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed in Iran on Wednesday, Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for an end to speculation over the reason behind the plane crash. Many rumours have been doing the rounds regarding the connection of the current US-Iran impasse to the UIA plane crash. Revealing that all passengers and crew members on board were believed to have died, he expressed his condolences to their family members. Moreover, he cut short his Oman visit and is on the way back to Ukraine. 

On Facebook, the Ukrainian President said,  "I ask everyone to keep from speculating and putting forth unconfirmed theories about the crash.  According to preliminary data, all passengers and crew members are dead.  Our embassy is verifying information on the circumstances of the tragedy and the lists of the dead.  My condolences to the families of passengers and crew members."

 

Read: Ukraine International Airlines Suspends All Operation In And Out Of Tehran After Crash

Read: Ukraine Official: No Theory On Cause Of Crash Yet

(With inputs from agencies)