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Ethiopian Airlines Flight Crash Leaves 157 Dead


Sun 10 Mar 2019 | 03:36 PM
Norhan Mahmoud

By: Norhan Mahmoud 

CAIRO, Mar. 10 (SEE)- Six Minutes after taking off, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed today morning, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members aboard, state media reported. 

https://twitter.com/ebczena/status/1104670386388692993?s=20

Ethiopia’s Fana Broadcasting stated that 33 nationalities were on board. The airline’s spokesman said that the victims included; 32 Kenyans, 17 Ethiopians, 6 Egyptians and a Yemeni. 

Canadians, Chinese, Italians, Americans, Indians, French, British, Russians, Moroccans, Israeli and Netherlands were also killed in the fatality. 

The crashed Boeing 737-8 Max plane was heading from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya. 

[caption id="attachment_40121" align="aligncenter" width="499"] Image Credit: Reuters[/caption]

At 8:44 am, the jet lost contact and wrecked 47 kilometers south of Ethiopia’s capital, near to Bishoftu or Debre Zeit. 

Investigations are still going on to identify the accident’s cause. 

Ethiopian Airline’s CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told a news conference that a distressed call was made by the plane’s pilot, voicing his desire to return back to Addis Ababa due to facing a difficulty and “was given clearance.”

“Smoke” was seen by the airline’s investigation team as they reached the site, as per Mr. Gebremariam. 

One day earlier, the aircraft had a successful trip coming back from Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Ethiopia’s prime minister’s office extended its condolences to victim’s families. 

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta evinced his grief on the calamity. “My prayers go to all the families and associates of those on board,” wrote Kenyatta on twitter. 

Ethiopian Airlines is one of Africa’s major carriers and aims to be the continent’s gateway to the world.