175 Die in Ethiopian Plane Crash

All 157 passengers and crew onboard brand new aircraft of the Ethiopian Airlines died as a result of the fatal plane crash on Sunday.

The incident took place after the plane’s takeoff from Addis which was on its way to Nairobi.

The crash happened at 08:44 local time, six minutes after the months-old Boeing 737 Max-8 took off.

As reported by media, 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese, eight Americans, seven Britons, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Germans, four Indians and four people from Slovakia were among the deceased.

BBC says that another plane of the same model was involved in a crash less than five months ago, when a Lion Air flight crashed into the sea near Indonesia with nearly 190 people on board.

The cause of the accident is not yet known. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebre Mariam said routine maintenance had revealed no problems with the plane, which it had received last November.

In a statement, the airline said it would conduct a forensic investigation in conjunction with officials from Boeing, the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, the Ethiopian Transport Authority other international bodies.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: Reuters