Ethiopian Airline flight headed to Kenya crashes with 149 passengers on board

Ethiopian Airlines' flight en-route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa capital city has gone down with more than 140 passengers on board.

Reports reaching Legit.ng indicated the ill-fated aircraft crashed on the morning of Sunday, March 10, at around Bishoftu (Debre Zeit).

Confirming the fatal accident, the Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, expressed their deepest condolence to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the Sunday morning crash.

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"The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, 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," the statement shared on the PM's official Twitter page read.

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The flag carrier also issued a statement on Sunday morning further confirming the accident.

According to the airline, aircraft B-737-800MAX with registration number ET-AVJ took off at 8.38am local time from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and lost contact at 8.44am, which is about six minutes after takeoff.

"Search and rescue operations are in progress. We have not confirmed information about survivors or any possible casualties. Ethiopian Airlines' staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services," the airline said.

It is understood there were 149 passengers and eight crew on board the flight.

The airline has already established a passenger information centre for families and friends of those who may have been on flight E-302/10 March.

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Meanwhile, Kenyans have also joined friends and families of those whose loved ones perished in the Ethiopian flight.

Legit.ng understands Ethiopian, which is currently the largest and fastest growing flag carrier in Africa, has had at least 60 accidents in its over 74-year existence.

A few instances include in 1988 when more than 30 died after jet lost power in Bahir Dar and in 1996 when a hijacked airline crashed off a beach on the Comoro Islands, killing 125.

Another crash happened in 2010 with 90 people on board.

Recent reports reaching Legit.ng reveals that one Nigerian and 32 Kenyans who were on the plane have been confirmed dead.

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Source: Legit.ng