Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crashed just after takeoff Sunday morning, March 10. The flight was departing Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Abebba, en route to Nairobi, Kenya. Onboard were 157 people, of which eight were Americans.
The Boeing 737 MAX, bearing 149 passengers and eight crew members according to a statement released by the airline, crashed six minutes after takeoff.
The plane crashed near Bishoftu, or Debre Zate, around 50km (31 miles) south of the capital, just after taking off at 8:38 a.m. local time, according to the airline.
The airline’s statement reads: “Search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible casualties.” The Ethiopian prime minister’s office extended its “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.
It is also the second crash of a 737 MAX airframe in six months, following a Lion Air flight that crashed just after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Nationalities of the victims:
- 32 Kenyans
- 18 Canadians
- 9 Ethiopians
- 8 Chinese
- 8 Italians
- 8 Americans
- 7 Brits
- 7 French
- 6 Egyptians
- 5 Dutch
- 4 UN passport
- 4 Indians
- 3 Russians
- 2 Moroccans
- 2 Israelis
- 1 Belgian
- 1 Ugandan
- 1 Yemeni
- 1 Sudanese
- 1 Togolese
- 1 Mozambican
- 1 Norwegian
This article was written by Ahmed Hassan
Feature image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons