90 Passengers Feared Dead in Ethiopian Airlines Crash

Reports are now claiming that all ninety passengers that were on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed into the Mediterranean are believed dead. The plane, which was a Boeing 737-800, was bound for Addis Ababa. Shortly after take off from Beirut airport it crashed into the Mediterranean. Witnesses said they saw a ball of fire.

So far police have already ruled out terrorism. Most seem to agree that this was more than likely weather related. After all, during the time of the crash, heavy rain and lighting was reported in the area.

The chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake, said that there was no word on any survivors as of yet. He said that he was in contact with Lebanese authorities, who have not confirmed any survivors. So far 4 bodies have been recovered and some wreckage for the crash site as well, he added. The crash site rest about two miles off the coast, and they had recovered 21 bodies by afternoon.

The Lebanon’s transport minister, Ghazi Aridi, said that the passengers included 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian, one Russian, a French woman, and two Britons. Unfortunately the French woman was the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon.

The Boeing 737-800 took off from Beirut around 2:30am local time. Helicopters and naval ships are still looking the waters for possible survivors, as well as wreckage debris. Ethiopian Airlines said that a team is already working on gathering all the information that they can find. As soon as more information is known, it will be released to the public. It remains unclear if they have any hopes of finding out just what caused the crash.