BEIRUT (Reuters) – An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 85 passengers on board crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut international airport in the early hours of Monday, airport sources said. The plane, said to be a Boeing (BA.N) 737 by one source, disappeared off the radar some five minutes after takeoff.
About 50 passengers were Lebanese nationals, most of the others were Ethiopians, the sources said. There were thought to be seven crew members.
The plane took off shortly after its scheduled time of 3:10 a.m. (0010 GMT), flying south-west, the sources said.
Ethiopian Airlines’ website shows it has a flight from Beirut to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa around that time, operating a Boeing 737. The airline could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to one source, residents on the coast saw a plane on fire crashing.
Senior Lebanese officials headed to Rafik Hariri International Airport after news of the crash. The plane had flown in from Addis Ababa earlier in the night, the sources said.
Hundreds of Ethiopians work as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
(Reporting by Nadim Ladki; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
22 thoughts on “Ethiopian Airlines jet crashes after taking off from Beirut”
This is very Sad.
May God rest the soul of the deceased in Peace. too bad Meles and Co should have been in it.
This is really a sad sad news. Would there be any life(s)survived from such disaster?
What a horrible news.
I am sorry for the passengers who lost their lives. Ethiopian Airlines is to be avoided by all means.
Ethiopian Airlines had 2 engines failures, 2 separate emergency landings and one fatal crash during a 12-month period.
Consider the following:
1. January 11, 2009, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing B-757 lands in Malta after one of its two engines fail. The plane was en route from Addis Ababa to Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
2. On February 3, 2009, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing B-757, carrying 147 passengers made an emergency landing because of engine failure. The plane had just taken off from Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
3. Now we have today’s (January 24, 2010) Boeing crash right after take off from Beirut. 92 people have reportedly lost their lives.
This is an incredibly high rate of accident considering that the airline has no more than a dozen jets.
Passengers need to think twice before boarding any Ethiopian flights.
Oh God be with us.Ethiopian Air Lines was thhe safest one in the world, I wonder what happened.
Hi
Might be good if you can get a 737 model. This 767-300. Just to be correct.
In any case it is lose and is tragic!
Really sad story i heard in the morning. May God rest their soul in peace! We all should pray for their families too.
God bless us!
I wish only Meles,Berekt, and some of their woyane Colleagues were on board in this flight.
Death in the air, death on the ground, death on the sea, death abroad, death at home, and death everywhere no Ethiopians can avoid or escape from. Death is, for some, the last chance, and, for others, it is the first chance. Better to die for some Ethiopians than to live under the dictatorship of Meles Seitanawi. May God bless the souls of those who passed away as the result of this jet crash!
what a sad news
I am superstitious guy and I do not like how 2010 or even the decade is unfolding. No more disasters please! Civil unrest in Nigeria, earthquake in haiti, air accidents, it ain’t pretty
I am really shocked what I heard.It is a bad news for the country as well as the victims families, the Ethiopian air line reputation.
My deepest condolence for all the families and friends who lost their loved ones on the Ethiopian flight. Along with my entire family, we are praying for all the families touched by this national tragedy that happened today 2009-01-25.
May God comfort the all of you.
GOD BLESS
Girum Gebretsadik
hirut, Ethiopian airlines is a very respected airline. Why should it be avoided? this is the second accident that ever happened since 1980 other that the hijack.
Sory for those who have lost their life. May their soul rest in peace. Having said that I would like to say few more words about the deteriorating safety record of Ethiopian airlines in the past few years.The primary concern of the woyane regime is to make as much money as possible at any cost. It is only with this motive that every government owned institutions including Ethiopian airlines are operating today. The regime and its officials have no regard to the safety of human life which could be in jeopardy due to over work of the aircraft and the crew. Very credible source within Ethiopian airlines have told me about the suspension of certain inspection procedures due to the fact that the aircrafts are always in the air.
Hirut above tried to tell us as if Ethiopian airlines is dangerouss. Let me tell you Hirut Ethiopian airlines is one of the best airline in africa and it is more professionals and well equiped airlines even compared to some european airlines. You can visit CNN, BBC, Times as well as NBC documented news linked today.
So you are blindely blaming ethiopian airlines reputation without base but for me it is clear your motive behind.
Hirut, could you please tell me about the so called Eiretrean Airlines? Kaa Kaa Kaaaa…….
Ethiopia can easily replace the airplane that was crashed, but it will never bring back the lives of those passengers who perished in that crash.
At this difficult time, how can one comfort the family and friends who have been waiting constantly for the arrival of those people from Beirut to Ethiopia?
Waiting at the Bole Air Port with great expectation and suddenly hearing the unexpected crash of the airplane that carries their loved ones, the living cannot bear such shocking news. It is, however, our human nature to put the blame for the crash on someone or on something else, but we Ethiopians often put such blame on እድል (fate), and no one is accountable for the crash; even someone is accountable, he/she will never bring the departed ones to life.
May the Almighty God be with the living that are hurt by the deaths of their friends and loved ones!
Ethiopian have been the safest air lines in the world that is a fact. But weyane is using the hard currency that is very sad.Like some of the comments that was given earlier I wish the crime minister and his crony Friends were in there.
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it is bad news for ethiopia. may god rest in peace
the died people
I am deeply sorry for what had happened in the crash. May God be with the family of the victims?
I did avoid Ethiopian air lines long ago. No more Pride in EAL after it fall under woyane’s government control. The primary selection criterion to get into flight training is being Tigrain especially for the pilots. Making money and murdering opponents is what all woyane is doing. Wait for more disastrous event.
To doyo:
Here you go again …? Please find a good reason before you said such things. TPLF has nothing to do with Ethiopian Airlines. ET has been the pride of Africa the last 50 years, and it alaways will be. It’s standard is by far one of the best and the biggest. My brother is an ethiopian pilot, who is not from TIGRAY, nor a memeber of TPLF. He left Ethiopia when he was only 12, and got his pilot license from Canada.Since then, he went back to serve his country, to fly ET. How do you justify such a false claim ?
ofcourse any body can use ethiopian nick and comment as if he is from ethiopia, but the fact is that the world with good record and authentic source is watching how lame ur brain is. so i advice u, guys, not to be reckless merely to show ur status in 22nd century. to my country men, i can’t tell how sad i’m to see ya toddler every time indeed resistant to grow. i have too many friends from oromo working in EAL which doesn’t tell any story about the position being taken by tgrians, that is shamful blind backward comment in this time of national disaster. i know u r awfully concerned about being deported or something like that,but u can still leave if u behave without wishing wrath to this country.
viva ethiopia and its peep!!!!!!