UPDATE: Brampton Family of Six Identified as Victims of Ethiopian Airlines Plane Crash

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Published March 11, 2019 at 8:56 pm

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A family of six from Brampton has perished in the tragic Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that occurred on Sunday, March 10.

The Peel District School Board (PDSB) recently confirmed that two Brampton students, along with their parents and grandparents, were killed in the tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash that occurred on Sunday, March 10.

The plane crashed on route to Nairobi, Kenya.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m. on March 11, the Peel District School Board took to Twitter to announce that two Peel students, their parents and their grandparents were among the 149 passengers and eight crew members who perished in the flight that crashed shortly after it took off from Addis Ababa at 8:38 a.m. (local time in Ethiopia).

The students have been identified as Ashka and Anushka Dixit.

Ashka Dixit was a student at Chinguacousy Secondary School and Anushka Dixit was a student at Centennial Sr. Public School. The two victims were sisters.

Shortly before 5:00 p.m., Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown took to Twitter to announce that all members of the Dixit and Vaidya family who perished in the crash have been identified.

“On behalf of Brampton City Council I extend my deepest condolences to the Vaidya family of Brampton. Six members of this family were among the 18 Canadians killed Sunday when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa,” Brown wrote in a tweet.

Brown says the victims include Pannagesh Vaidya, 73, Hansini Vaidya, 67, their daughter Kosha Vaidya, 37, her husband Prerit Dixit, 45 and 14-year-old Ashka and 13-year-old Anushka.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of sorrow and reflection,” Brown said.

Brown says Global Affairs Canada have been in touch with family members in Brampton.

All flags at City Hall will be half mast until further notice.

“As more details, become known, I will provide a further update on how Brampton residents can assist this family,” Brown says.

Multiple media reports indicate the flight was the second Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane to crash in six months.

Eighteen Canadians were among the 157 passengers killed in the crash.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Cover photo courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines’ official Facebook page

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