The Boeing 737 was flying to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi
An Ethiopian Airlines flight has crashed with 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, the country’s prime minister confirmed on Sunday.
In a tweet sent on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed deaths upon the flight.
“The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s 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,” the tweet said.
The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s 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.
— Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) March 10, 2019
A statement from the airline on Sunday confirmed that the Boeing 737 crashed close to an area called Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, roughly 50 kilometres south of the capital Addis Ababa, shortly after taking off at 8.38am local time.
“Search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible casualties,” the statement continued.
Accident Bulletin no. 1
Issued on march 10, 2019 at 11:00am
Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at https://t.co/Je7pXoKxHh pic.twitter.com/07wKZHPVPl— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019
BBC reports that despite a good overall safety record, this is the second time that an Ethiopian Airlines flight has crashed with fatalities during a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
In November 1996, a flight between the Ethiopian and Kenyan capitals crash into a coral reef in the Indian Ocean, killing 123 of the 175 people on board.
