Ethiopian Airlines plane crash kills all 157 on board, including 4 Indians; Narendra Modi expresses condolences

An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 157 people on board crashed on its way to Kenyan capital Nairobi from Addis Ababa on Sunday, the office of the Ethiopian prime minister said. There were no survivors in the crash, Reuters quoted state broadcaster Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation as saying. Four Indians were among those killed. [caption id=“attachment_6233161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A relative reacts as he leaves the information centre following the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash. Reuters[/caption] The flight had at least eight crew members on board. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office issued a statement on Sunday morning, saying that the Boeing 737 was on a regularly scheduled flight when it crashed. However, the statement gave no further details and the cause of the mishap is unknown at the moment. In a message on Twitter, the Prime Minister’s Office expressed “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.

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 spokesperson for Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that the plane crashed while heading from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa to Nairobi. It is not clear yet where exactly the crash occurred. “It is too early to speculate the cause of the accident and further investigation will be carried out to find out the cause of the accident in collaboration with all stakeholders including the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and other international entities to maintain the international standard and information will be provided once the cause is identified. Ethiopian Airlines will provide all the necessary support to the families of the victims,” the CEO added. A senior captain, Yared Getachew with a cumulative flight hour of more than 8,000 and with a commendable performance, was commanding the flight along with first officer Ahmed Nur Mohammod Nur, who had a flight hour of 200, the statement read. A statement on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Twitter handle read:

Anguished by the loss of lives due to the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane. My thoughts are with the bereaved families: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 10, 2019

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa’s largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent. With inputs from agencies