Six members of one Canadian family were among those killed in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet on Sunday, it has emerged. Overall, 18 Canadians are reported to have died in the crash.

Three generations of the Dixit-Vaidya family were travelling on a family holiday to Kenya, where Kosha Vaidya, 37, was born. She had not been back to visit her birthplace in years.

She was travelling with her husband Prerit Dixit, 45, two daughters, Ashka, 14 and Anushka, 13, and parents Pannagesh Vaidya, 71, and mother Hansini Vaidya, 63. All 157 people onboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, were killed.

Kosha Vaidya’s brother, Manant Vaidya, said the family holiday to Kenya was supposed to be first visit for his sister to her birthplace in decades. He said the teenage girls were excited about plans to go on a safari.

Kosha Vaidya worked for the Canadian Hearing Society as a HR advisor. The Hearing Society issued a statement calling her a “remarkable person … who had a brilliant future ahead of her.”

“She will be greatly missed and remembered for her intelligence, professionalism and dynamic personality,” said Julia Dumanian, president and CEO of the Canadian Hearing Society.

The family lived in Brampton, just outside of Toronto, and the girls attended schools in the Peel District.

“This is an unbelievably tragic situation,” said Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton.

He said the flags at City Hall would be flown at half-mast until further notice.

“As more details become known, I will provide a further update on how Brampton residents can assist this family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of sorrow and reflection,” he said in a statement.

Boeing is facing questions over the safety of its 737 Max 8 jets after their second fatal crash in months.

Airline carriers including Ethiopian Airlines, Cayman Airlines and carriers in China have grounded the planes until further investigations are carried out into the cause of the crash.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered from the wreckage of the flight and investigators hope the black box evidence can explain why the plane crashed six minutes after takeoff, ploughing into a field near Tulu Fara village outside the town of Bishoftu, 40 miles (65km) south-east of the Ethiopian capital.