A third Edmonton resident has been identified as a passenger on the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed on Sunday.
Darcy Belanger was on board the Kenya-bound Boeing 737 Max 8, Parvati.org has confirmed.
Belanger was a founding member and director of strategic initiatives for the conservation not-for-profit.
“Admired for his courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities, Darcy was a hero in every sense of the word,” a statement from the organization reads.
“He was passionately devoted to the protection of all life through the realization of MAPS, the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. On March 10, 2019, he literally gave it his life.”
Although he worked with PCL Construction, Belanger was flying to Nairobi on March 10 for the United Nations Environment Assembly, where he was supposed to speak about the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary.
Parvati.org said he was one of the first to join the cause and co-founded the organization.
“Darcy was truly a champion and a force of nature, one whose passing leaves an unimaginable gap in this work as well as in the lives of his family, friends and colleagues. Yet he also leaves us with a deep determination to honor his legacy of courage, compassion and focus.”
PCL said it was "deeply shocked and saddened about the untimely passing of one of our own."
Belanger worked for the company as the director of U.S. professional development.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Darcy’s family and friends during this difficult time," PCL said in a statement.
It is unknown what caused the plane to crash minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board.
Eighteen Canadians are among the crash victims.
Belanger is the fourth Albertan to be identified among the victims: Edmontonian Amina Odowaa and her five-year-old daughter, Sofia Abdulkadir, and Calgarian Derick Lwugi have also been confirmed dead.
Odowaa’s brother told CTV News on Sunday he had first thought, “Maybe she missed it, and then she’s stuck at the airport waiting, and hopefully she’s not on board.”
“It’s such a tragic thing. So unexpected,” Mohamed Hassan Ali said.
On Monday, Lorelei School, which Odowaa’s daughter attended, said social workers and psychologists would be in place to support students, staff and parents as long as was necessary.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our students from Lorelei School. Our condolences go out to the family and all those affected by this tragedy.”
Several other Canadians have been identified, although the names of some remain unknown.
More to come…
With files from Timm Bruch
