ARVIN MORATTAB AND AIDA FARZANEH

Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh were planning on having a child.

They had left Montreal in late December to visit family in Iran during the holidays. Morrattab’s twin brother, Armin, was supposed to pick them up at Montréal–trudeau International Airport Wednesday night.

Armin said his brother was smart, hardworking and curious about his surroundings. “He was friendly and always smiling. We shared big moments of our lives together.”

Armin said the young couple, who lived in Griffintown, Que., had a fabulous relationship. They came from the same hometown in Iran, and met there more than a decade ago. Both also attended the École de technologie supérieure in Montreal and recently finished their doctoral studies.

“The entire ÉTS community offers its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims as well as their teachers and colleagues,” the engineering school said on Facebook.

In September, Eaton, a company based in Ireland, had hired Morattab as a senior power engineer.

Farzaneh, a building energy specialist, worked for the Montreal architectural firm Lemay and was a lecturer at ÉTS.

“Although Aida had been with Lemay for less than three months, she had more than made her mark on the team,” Cristine Tessier, a spokesman for Lemay, said. “A building energy specialist who was also working on her second PHD, she impressed many with her intelligent, structured approach and transdisciplinary expertise. Colleagues also remember her ever-present smile.”

Morattab’s twin, Armin, had been very worried about the conflict between Iran and the U. S. He was glued to the television Tuesday night, which is when his brother and sister-in-law were at the Tehran airport waiting to board a flight to Ukraine.

As the situation escalated, Armin called his brother and begged him to take shelter in case the U.S. bombed the airport. But Arvin assured him the airport was calm and to stop worrying.

Their father was at the airport with the young couple. He waited until the flight took off and then took a 40- minute metro ride into Tehran. After leaving the metro, he heard people talking about a plane crash. He rushed back.

“I called him 10 minutes after the crash. When we saw the list of passengers, we knew it happened to them. It’s a very sad moment. I can’t believe it.”