UKRAINE PLANE SHOT DOWN BY IRAN: VICTIMS IDENTITIES, STORIES REVEALED

On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had received evidence indicating that “the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile” and vowed this his government “will not rest” until it gets answers.

Sixty-three Canadian nationals were among those who died in the crash, and 138 passengers were headed to Canada, making it the country’s worst aviation disaster in 35 years, the Guardian reported.

Gathering at vigils held at local churches and universities — and sharing photos and tributes online — friends, family, and colleagues of the passengers are honoring the victims. Canada’s university community was especially hit hard; 20 schools across the country reported that they lost distinguished faculty members, longtime professors, talented PhD candidates, and incoming first-year students.

On Thursday, Hamed Esmaeilion had to call his daughter’s school and tell them that his 9-year-old, Reera, would “be absent forever.”

Sheyda Shadkhoo, who lived and worked in Toronto, had been in Tehran to visit her mother and sisters and on her way home, according to CNN.

Her husband, Hassan Shadkhoo, told CNN she had called him 20 minutes before the flight took off, saying she was worried about tensions between Iran and the US following the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

“She wanted me to assure her that there wasn’t going to be a war. I told her not to worry. Nothing’s gonna happen,” Shadkhoo told CBC.

One family has been split forever after a ticket error meant that Ottawa resident Roja Azadian boarded the flight, while her husband Mohsen Ahmadipour stayed at the airport.

He was still in the terminal when he found out about the crash and his wife’s death, according to local Canadian newspaper the Ottawa Citizen.

The couple had been visiting family and were due to board the plane together, but when they arrived at the airport Ahmadipour was told his ticket was no longer valid, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gourji, 25, were graduate students at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, Reuters reported.

They had been traveling back to Canada after celebrating their wedding one week ago, the news agency said.

Mohammad Hossein and Zeynab Asadilari, a Canadian-Iranian brother and sister, both died in the crash.

According to the BBC’s “Today” radio program Wednesday, Asadilari was in her 20s and a close friend described her as “such a traveler, she loved exploring the world.”

Nikitah Tarabian, another friend, told the BBC: “I don’t know how to react – this person we were literally texting two days ago. She was online on social media and then within a few minutes she was gone.”

Hamed Esmaeilion says his wife Parisa and with their daughter Reera were killed in the Ukrainian flight that crashed in #Iran last night: I called her school today and said Reera will be absent forever.pic.twitter.com/a11dPAyL0S

The couple married on New Year’s Day. Footage from the ceremony on Twitter shows them walking into a brightly lit, crowded room, where they were met with cheers and clicking cameras. They were on the plane with four members of their wedding party, Reza Akbari, the president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, told Reuters.

“When you go from top to the bottom, it’s hard to believe — all these wonderful people … these people who really were actually impactful in our community, they’re not among us anymore. And in one incident all of them are gone,” Akbari said in an interview with the CBC.

Also among the victims were Mahdieh Ghassemi, 38, and her two children, Arsam Niazi, 11, and Arnica Niazi, 8.

Ghassemi was an award-winning architect and a loving mother who’d moved from Tehran to Toronto 10 years ago.

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Her close friend from university, Negar Khalili, told BuzzFeed News that Ghassemi was “amazing.”

Ghassemi worked exceptionally hard to build the life she had, Khalili said.

“She got married and came to Canada 10 years ago, and then because of her kids, she stopped working,” Khalili said. “Then after a while, she got back to work, got hired, and she started the process of getting her [architectural] license. While she was working, parenting, and all that, she was studying for the exam and got the license.”

Her boss, Nitin Malhotra, told Global News CA all the employees of the firm were devastated by her loss.

“She was really family-oriented,” Khalili said. “Her first responsibility was the kids, and she would do everything — everything — for her kids.”

Mohammad Asadi Lari is being remembered as an “incredible human” who spent his life advocating for peace, global health, and equal, inclusive educational opportunities for young students.

Last February, he gave a TED Talk imploring youth to think globally but act locally.

His sister, Zeynab Asadi Lari, was also on the plane. The siblings were students at the University of Toronto, which said six of its students died in the crash.

“He created a legacy as a brilliant scientist, compassionate clinician & engaged citizen. In his honour, be kind today,” the school said of Mohammad Asadi Lari.

On Thursday, the university hosted a vigil to honor the students and other victims of the crash, joining 19 other schools whose beloved professors, PhD candidates, engineering scholars, and aspiring scientists died.

The #UTSC community mourned the victims of Flight PS752 near Tehran, which included 6 #UofT students, at a vigil earlier today. Further details and where to get support: https://t.co/7WckaiDxxX #ScarbTO pic.twitter.com/vHUltXZdSA

— University of Toronto Scarborough (@UTSC) January 9, 2020

The University of Alberta said 10 members of its community died in the crash, including revered researchers and a recent graduate.

“These individuals were integral to the intellectual and social fabric of our university and the broader community,” David Turpin, the school’s president, said in a statement. “So many Canadian universities have also lost students, faculty, staff, and alumni in this tragedy, and we share in their sorrow.”