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NewsAlert: Mother & daughter from Edmonton killed in Ethiopian plane crash

THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Sunday, March 10, 2019 6:44PM ADT Last Updated Sunday, March 10, 2019 6:45PM ADT

CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, looks at the wreckage of the plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday March 10, 2019. (Facebook via AP)

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TORONTO -- A Toronto man has confirmed his sister and her daughter have died in a deadly plane crash in Ethiopia.

Mohamed Hassan Ali says Amina Ibrahim Odowaa, of Edmonton, and her six-year-old daughter Safiya were on board the Ethiopian Airlines jet that went down this morning shortly after takeoff.

A Carleton University professor was also among the 18 Canadians killed in the crash, which left 157 people dead.

Pius Adesanmi was a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University.

It was not clear what caused the plane to go down in clear weather six minutes after departing Bole Airport in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on its way to Nairobi.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "deeply saddened" by the crash.