An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 149 passengers on board has crashed on its way to Nairobi in Kenya, with deaths reported.
The Boeing 737, carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members, was on a regular scheduled flight when it came down, just six minutes after taking off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The airline said Flight ET 302 had crashed near the town of Bishoftu, some 31 miles (50km) southeast of the Addis Ababa.
It said in a statement: “At this time search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible causalities.
“Ethiopian Airlines staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services.”
The Ethiopian government “would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said in the Twitter post.
Anthony Nlebem
