'Ball of fire' as plane crashes
2010-01-25 08:27
Beirut - An Ethiopian jet carrying 90 passengers and crew plunged into the sea off Lebanon in a ball of fire just after take-off in stormy weather early on Monday, witnesses and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said.
It was unclear whether there were any survivors.
Aridi said Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 lost contact with the airport control tower shortly after take-off and crashed into the Mediterranean sea about 12km south of the airport.
"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on take-off and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters, adding that the Boeing 737 crashed some 3.5km off the coast.
Families of the passengers, some of them weeping, could be seen arriving at Beirut International Airport, where they were escorted to a private area to await news of their loved ones.
Witnesses reported seeing a ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea.
The accident took place amid heavy rains and storms in Lebanon in the past two days that have caused heavy flooding and damages in some parts of the country.
Aridi said the passengers include 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one French woman, one Syrian and seven crew members. There were also several dual nationals including two British-Lebanese, one Canadian-Lebanese and a Russian-Lebanese.
Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic workers in Lebanon and Ethiopian Airlines operates a regular flight between Addis Ababa and Beirut.
Search and rescue effort
A government official told AFP that among the passengers was the wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton.
"Among the names on the passenger list was that of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Ambassador Denis Pietton took up his post in Lebanon in September.
An airport official had initially said that 92 people were on board the doomed flight, which he said crashed about five minutes after take-off at 02:30 (12:30 GMT).
Aridi said he had formed an investigative committee to determine the cause of the crash and had contacted nearby countries to assist in the search and rescue effort.
The Lebanese army, navy as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were assisting in the rescue, Aridi added.
"We have contacted everyone, inside and outside the country, that can assist us and the Lebanese navy, the army and UNIFIL have joined in the rescue," the minister added.
He said the French organisation responsible for technical investigation of civil aviation accidents was taking part in the probe.
The Boeing 737-800, which entered into commercial service in 1998, is one of the latest versions of the world's most widely used short to medium-haul airliners, and is capable of carrying up to 189 passengers.