Messages of condolence have been pouring in for the Hongkonger who died aboard the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday, with the tragedy of his untimely death compounded by the revelation that his wife is expecting the couple’s second child.
Victor Tsang, a program officer for the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Gender and Safeguards Unit, was one of the 157 people from 35 countries who perished on board the Nairobi-bound flight.
The flight was carrying more than 20 United Nations workers, most of whom were heading to the UN Environment Assembly, a five-day high-level sustainability summit in the Kenyan capital. The UN flag flew at half-mast as staff arrived for work at UN agencies in Nairobi, and at the first plenary session of the Environment Assembly, participants observed a moment of silence, followed by speeches expressing sympathy for the victims and their families.
Leading the tributes was the UNEP, which said that Tsang took on the role of policy officer on sustainable development last year, and was heading to the Environment Assembly to help promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The body said Tsang’s death was “a devastating loss, not just for UN Environment, but for the United Nations as a whole,” describing him as focused, dedicated, and “a great ambassador for the organization.”
Those who knew Tsang described him on social media as kind, gentle, humble, inspiring, and a “committed gender activist.”
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Tsang’s alma mater, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), said in a statement that although Tsang lived overseas for many years, he still cared about his old university, and was even a guest lecturer for CUHK’s Global Studies Programme, where he talked about sustainable development with students.
“He hoped to increase the level of concern for the environment and create a better future for the next generation. Mr. Tsang’s enthusiasm for promoting sustainable development was truly admirable.”
Tsang’s wife, Aurora Cheung, works for UNESCO. The couple has a 2-year-old son named Oliver, and a family friend confirmed to Apple Daily that Cheung is pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Apple Daily reported that the couple met at church while they were studying in Hong Kong, with both going on to pursue further studies in London and later getting married. The couple was forced into a long-distance relationship when Tsang took a job in Rome and Cheung took a job in Paris, but they were reunited in 2015 when they both got jobs in Nairobi.
Family and friends of the couple have flown to Nairobi to help Cheung with the funeral arrangements, and friends have told the newspaper that she still hasn’t come to terms with Tsang’s death.
On Sunday, the Nairobi-bound Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed just minutes after taking off from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. The Boeing that crashed was the same model as the Lion Air jet that plummeted into the Java Sea in November.
It’s still not clear what caused the crash, but investigators found voice and flight data recorders, also known as the black box, during a search of the crash site close to the Addis Ababa airport yesterday, the BBC reports.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that more than a dozen airlines, along with the governments of China and Indonesia, have grounded flights using the 737 MAX 8.
None of the commercial airlines operating in Hong Kong — Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines — are using the 737 MAX 8, but a number of Chinese commercial airlines do use the model.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the model of jet involved in the crash. It was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, not a 737-800 MAX. Coconuts HK apologizes for any confusion caused.
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