QUEBEC — Family and friends of the six Quebecers who were killed in the terrorist attack in Burkina Faso are reacting with shock and disbelief over the deaths.
Four of the victims were from the same family: Yves Carrier, his wife Gladys Chamberland, their adult son Charlelie Carrier and Yves' adult daughter Maude Carrier, also a teacher.
The identity of the other two victims could not immediately be verified, but Quebec and Burkina Faso media said they were travelling with Carrier's family on a humanitarian trip.
They were among at least 28 who died when terrorists stormed a luxury hotel in the capital Ouagadougou late Friday.
Karine Paquet, who has been friends with Maude Carrier since high school, said her close friend seemed emotional over the phone the night before she left for Africa.
"It was painful for her to leave her two little daughters to go there, but at the same time she knew she would live an extraordinary experience," she said.
She said volunteering for a humanitarian mission was in keeping with her friend's generous personality and love of helping others.
"I never knew someone who didn't love Maude," she said. "She had a beautiful soul, a marvellous generosity, she knew how to welcome people, she was respectful and loving... the most beautiful person I ever met."
A school board in Quebec City said four of the six victims were current or retired teachers in the Quebec City area.
"The commission scholaire de la Capitale learned with dismay of the death of two members of our teaching staff as well as two retired principals in the attacks Friday in Burkina Faso," it wrote on its Facebook page.
A music program for one of the commission's schools said three of the victims worked there.
"Colleagues and friends, we have all been blessed to know them. They will always be some of the kindest, most authentic and generous people we have known," the Musique Brebeuf program wrote on its page.
It specified that Yves Carrier was the former assistant principal of the school until his retirement a few years ago.
"We all remember the slogan 'the best school in town,' of which he was the author," the post read.
The post also stated that another victim, Louis Chabot, once taught math at the school and that Maude Carrier taught French to young children.
"Today, mourning and grief overwhelm us," it read. "But our thoughts are with Yves Richard, spouse of Maude, and their two daughters who live these difficult times. We send them our deepest sympathies."
According to Rose-Anne Rousseau, member of a Quebec-City religious community that helped co-ordinate the trip, the six were in Africa as humanitarian volunteers, and had spent much of their time in Africa helping to paint and repair a school.
She said the majority of the group had been in Africa since just before Christmas, and three of the six were expected to fly out the evening of the attacks.
"They had come back to pack their bags, and were having one last dinner before going to the airport," she said.
