Chiswick Man Killed in Iranian Air Crash

Saeed Tahmasebi was travelling with his new wife after marrying last month

Saeed Tahmasebi with his new wife Niloofar Ebrahim

A 35-year-old man from Chiswick has been named as one of the 176 people killed in the Ukrainian Airlines air crash in Tehran this week. Saeed Tahmasebi was travelling with his new wife Niloofar Ebrahim, a psychology student. The couple had married last month but had travelled to Iran for a second ceremony with relatives.

It is being reported that they had not originally been scheduled to be on the flight but had waited in Tehran to collect some wedding photos. Most of the friends and relatives they had celebrated their marriage with in Iran had already flown back to London but they had stayed an extra few days.

Mr Tahmasebi’s sister, Sally, told The Daily Telegraph: “They were a wonderful, beautiful couple and they were so happy together. This is too terrible for words. We cannot believe what has happened.

“Saeed was the nicest guy you could ever find. He would cause no harm to anybody. He was ready to help everybody whenever anyone needed help. He had the biggest heart and everyone who knew him loved him.”

His brother-in-law, Amir, told the Telegraph, “It’s heart-breaking. They were only in Tehran because they were waiting a few days for their wedding photographs before flying home.

"We all left to come back home earlier and were anxious about the situation because of what’s going on in the region. But when we spoke to them ten minutes before they boarded we thought everything was fine. Then we heard their flight had gone down. It’s terrible, absolutely terrible.”

Mr Tahmasebi was a civil engineer who worked for Laing O’Rourke and was studying for a PHD at Imperial College London. He had a degree in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Structural Engineering from the University of Surrey after which he worked in the construction industry for 12 years in consultancy and contracting roles. He joined Laing O’Rourke in 2017 and worked on the the design and construction of large and complex major projects in the UK and overseas. He had a particular interest in the transport sector and also worked on the construction of high rise building projects.

A spokesman for Imperial College said: "We are deeply saddened at this tragic news. "Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi was a brilliant engineer with a bright future. His contributions to systems engineering earned respect from everyone who dealt with him and will benefit society for years to come.

"He was a warm, humble and generous colleague, and close friend to many in our community. Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with Saeed's family, friends and colleagues, as well as all those affected by this tragedy."

Laing O'Rourke said in a statement: "Everyone here is shocked and saddened by this very tragic news. Saeed was a popular and well respected engineer and will be missed by many of his colleagues."

Mr Tahmasebi was one of three British passport holders who have unofficially been named as victims of the crash. The others are Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, aged 40, and Sam Zokaei, 42.

January 9, 2020