Witnesses reported seeing saw a ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea. Aridi said Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 lost contact with the airport control tower shortly after takeoff and crashed into the sea about 12 kilometres south of the airport.
"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters, adding that the Boeing 737 crashed some 3.5 kilometres off the coast. He 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.
An airport official had initially said that 92 people were on board the doomed flight, which he said crashed about five minutes after takeoff at 2:30 am local time. 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. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.
"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters, adding that the Boeing 737 crashed some 3.5 kilometres off the coast. He 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.
An airport official had initially said that 92 people were on board the doomed flight, which he said crashed about five minutes after takeoff at 2:30 am local time. 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. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.
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