157 dead in Ethiopian Airlines crash

An Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on Sunday shortly after take-off from the country’s capital, carving a gash in the earth and spreading global grief to 35 countries that had someone among the 157 people who were killed.

There was no immediate indication why the plane went down in clear weather while on a flight to Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya.

There were seven British passengers and one Irish passenger among the victims.

The crash was strikingly similar to that of a Lion Air jet that plunged into the sea off Indonesia minutes after take-off last year, killing 189 people.

Both accidents involved the Boeing 737 Max 8.

The crash shattered more than two years of relative calm in African skies, where travel had long been chaotic.

It also was a serious blow to state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, which has expanded to become the continent’s largest and best-managed carrier and turned Addis Ababa into the gateway to Africa.

“Ethiopian Airlines is one of the safest airlines in the world. At this stage we cannot rule out anything,” chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters.

He visited the crash site, standing in the gaping crater flecked with debris.

Black body bags were spread out nearby while Red Cross and other workers looked for remains.

As the sun set, the airline’s chief operating officer said the plane’s flight data recorder had not yet been found.

Around the world, families were gripped by grief.

At Addis Ababa airport, a woman called a mobile number in vain. “Where are you, my son?” she said, in tears.

Others cried as they approached the terminal.

Henom Esayas, whose sister’s Nigerian husband was killed, told The Associated Press they were startled when a stranger picked up their frantic calls to his mobile phone, told them he had found it in the debris and promptly switched it off.

Shocked leaders of the United Nations, the UN refugee agency and the World Food Programme announced that colleagues had been on the plane.

The UN migration agency estimated some 19 UN-affiliated employees were killed.

Both Addis Ababa and Nairobi are major hubs for humanitarian workers, and many people were on their way to a UN environmental conference set to begin Monday in Nairobi.

The Addis Ababa-Nairobi route links East Africa’s two largest economic powers.

Sunburned travellers and tour groups crowd Addis Ababa airport’s waiting areas, along with businessmen from China, Gulf nations and elsewhere.

A list of the dead released by Ethiopian Airlines included passengers from China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Israel, India and Somalia. Kenya lost 32 citizens. Canada, 18.

Ethiopian officials declared Monday a day of mourning.

At Nairobi airport, hopes quickly dimmed for loved ones. “I just pray that he is safe or he was not on it,” said Agnes Muilu, who had come to pick up her brother.

The crash is likely to renew questions about the 737 Max , the newest version of Boeing’s popular single-aisle airliner, which was first introduced in 1967 and has become the world’s most common passenger jet.

The Ethiopian plane was new, delivered to the airline in November.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 was one of 30 meant for the airline, Boeing said in July.

The jet’s last maintenance was on February 4, and it had flown just 1,200 hours.

The plane crashed six minutes after departure , ploughing into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 31 miles outside Addis Ababa, at 8.44am.

The jet showed unstable vertical speed after take-off, air traffic monitor Flightradar 24 said.

The senior Ethiopian pilot, who joined the airline in 2010, sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return to the airport, the airline’s chief executive said.