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Ethiopian airliner crashes with 90 people

by Amitjha | January 24, 2010 at 09:23 pm

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An Ethopian airliner, boeing 737-800, crashed in Mediterranean sea just after take off from the Beriut. There were 90 people on board including eight crew members.

The Boeing 737-800 disappeared off the radar some five minutes after taking off, shortly after its scheduled departure time of 2:10 a.m. (7:10 p.m. EST), during a thunderstorm and heavy rain, the sources said. It was heading for Addis Ababa.

Eight-two passengers and eight crew were aboard, according to the plane's manifest, the sources said.

About 50 passengers were Lebanese nationals, three with dual nationalities: British, Canadian and Russian. Most of the others were Ethiopians. Hundreds of Ethiopians work as domestic helpers in Lebanon.

According to one source, residents on the coast saw a "ball of fire" crashing off Na'ameh village, a few kilometers south of the Lebanese capital.

Senior Lebanese officials and some family members of Lebanese passengers headed to Rafik Hariri International Airport after news of the crash. The plane had flown in from Addis Ababa earlier in the night, the sources said.

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Blue Crush

flagged this story as Breaking

at 22:20 on January 24th, 2010

Amitjha, thanks for getting this story out so quickly. It will now show up on the home page for four hours. If new developments justify it, I'll renew this flag for another cycle.

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Amitjha

at 23:57 on January 24th, 2010

An investigative team has been dispatched to the scene, Ethiopian Airlines said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but the plane took off in a heavy rainstorm.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said foul play was not suspected.

"As of now, a sabotage act is unlikely. The investigation will uncover the cause," he said.

A witness , Abdel Mahdi Salaneh, told the BBC he saw the plane fall into the sea in flames.

"We saw a flash in the sky...," he said. We saw a flash over the sea and it was the plane falling. The weather was really bad, it was all thunder and rain."

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 04:30 on January 25th, 2010

BEIRUT (AP) — An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people caught fire and crashed into the Mediterranean shortly after takeoff Monday from Beirut, setting off a frantic search as rain lashed the coast and debris washed ashore. At least 23 bodies were recovered.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Lebanon has been slammed by bad weather since Sunday night, with crackling thunder, lightning and pouring rain.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected in the crash of Flight 409, which was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said.

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