Ethiopian Airlines Crash: 6 of Indian-Origin Family in Canada Dead

Six members of an Indian-origin family heading for a vacation were killed in the crash.

Manant Vaidya with his wife Hiral, who lost his two parents, sister, brother-in-law, and two young nieces in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, 10 March.

(Photo: AP)

A trip to a safari park in Kenya turned into a nightmare for six members of a family from India in Canada who died when the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, 10 March, reported PTI.

The Boeing 737 took-off from Bole International Airport on Sunday and lost contact six minutes later before coming down near Tulu Fara village outside the Ethiopian town of Bishoftu, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew on board, including tourists and business travellers.

The victims included 73-year-old Pannagesh Vaidya, his 67-year-old wife Hansini Vaidya, their 37-year-old daughter Kosha Vaidya, her husband Prerit Dixit, 45 and their two children Anushka and Ashka, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was quoted as saying by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

While the Surat-based Vaidya couple were Indian nationals, their daughter, husband and two children were Canadians of Indian-origin.

"This is an unbelievably tragic situation for this family," Brown said in a statement.

"As more details become known, I will provide a further update on how Brampton residents can assist this family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of sorrow and reflection," Brown added.

The flags at city hall will remain at half-mast until further notice in honour of the family, Brown said in a message on Twitter.

‘It’s a Huge Tragedy’

"It's a huge tragedy," Manant Vaidya, son of Pannagesh who died in the crash, said.

"I lost my parents, I lost my sister. I don't have anyone else now," he added.

Manant said his sister, who became a Canadian permanent resident in 2003, wanted to take her children to Kenya to visit her birthplace.

"They thought March break was the perfect time for them to go over there, have fun," he said.

Manant and his wife said they are currently speaking with consular officials overseas and waiting for more information on their family's remains.

Another family member Markesh Mehta said, "They used to live in Canada and were going on a trip to Nairobi . EAM had mentioned names of two of them, as the rest four had Canadian passports," according to ANI.

People From 35 Countries Killed in the Crash

People from 35 countries were reportedly on board the flight ET 302 when it ploughed into a field, 60-kilometre southeast of Addis Ababa.

According to the Indian Embassy in Ethiopia, four Indian nationals were killed and they have been identified as Pannagesh Vaidya, Hansini Vaidya, Nukavarapu Manisha, a doctor based in the US, and Shikha Garg, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consultant attached with the Environment Ministry.

Ethiopian Airlines said Kenya had the largest number of casualties with 32, followed by Canada with 18, Ethiopia nine, then Italy, China, and the US with eight each.

Britain and France each had seven people on board, Egypt six, and Germany five. Twelve countries in Africa and 14 in Europe had citizens among the victims.