Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashes on way to Kenya (Lead)

Sunday - March 10, 2019 2:50 pm , Category : WORLD

Addis Ababa, March 10 (IANS) An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on Sunday while flying from Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The flight is believed to have had 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, the airline said.

The disaster happened at 8.44 a.m. around the town of Bishoftu, shortly after the plane took off from the Ethiopian capital, the BBC reported.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his "deepest condolences" on Twitter.

The airline said that search and rescue operations were under way near the crash site.

In 2010, an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after leaving Beirut, killing 90 people on board.

--IANS mr/ksk

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