A Canadian woman who was onboard EgyptAir Flight MS804 has been described by a friend as a kind woman who was successful in both her career and family life.

Marwa Hamdy has been identified as one of two Canadians who was on the flight that disappeared while en route from Paris to Cairo early Thursday.

Her friend Haleh Banani said Hamdy's son contacted Banani’s family yesterday and told them the tragic news.

"She was a very kind-hearted person, very well-rounded, very successful," Banani told CTV News Channel on Friday.

Banani said Hamdy was a project manager with IBM and she had three sons, ages 16, 13 and 11.

"She balanced work and family very well," Banani said.

Hamdy was returning to Cairo after visiting family in Paris.

'A beautiful soul'

Mariam Emara worked with Hamdy at IBM and described her as "an angelic person" with a "beautiful soul.”

Emara told CTV News Channel that she had spoken to Hamdy three days before the crash while Hamdy was in Istanbul for a business trip. The two had made plans to meet on Friday.

Emara said she didn't know that Hamdy had decided to travel to Paris to visit her sister before returning to Cairo. It wasn't until her employer asked if the mother of three was on the EgyptAir flight that Emara started making calls to the family.

Hamdy was born in Canada and lived in Saskatoon before moving to Cairo for post-secondary studies. She remained in Egypt after marrying an Egyptian.

The EgyptAir jetliner had 66 people onboard when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed that two Canadians were on the ill-fated flight.

Friend mourns co-pilot

Half a world away from the crash site, a Manitoba man is also looking for answers.

Mostafa Ezzo, a Winnipeg-based pilot for a regional airline in Manitoba, told CTV Winnipeg his best friend from flight school, 24-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, co-piloted the doomed Airbus A320.

"We all loved him! He was the most lovable person in the group," Ezzo, an Egyptian-Canadian, said.

The two had trained together at the Egypt Aviation Academy. According to Ezzo, Mamdouh has been working for EgyptAir for at least five years and had thousands of hours of flight time under his belt.

"I know my friend very well. And I'm very confident, I know he did his best to save those people on board."