Four Indian among 157 killed in Ethiopian Airlines plane crash

Mar 10 (AZINS) Four Indians among 157 passengers including eight crew members were killed in Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on Sunday morning. The deceased were from 35 countries. The plane crashed shortly after taking off.

In a press conference held at Ethiopian Airlines headquarters in the afternoon, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines who had traveled to the scene of the crash, said, "The passengers included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese citizens, eight Americans, seven British citizens, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Dutch citizens, four Indians, four people from Slovakia, three Austrians, three Swedes, three Russians, two Moroccans, two Spaniards, two Poles and two Israelis."

"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.

The plane Boeing 737 had 149 passengers and eight crew members on board. The victims were of 35 nationalities.

The crashed B-737-800MAX airplane flew back to Addis from Johannesburg this morning to its yet another flight bound to Nairobi underwent rigorous first check maintenance on February 4."Ethiopian Airlines Group expresses its profound sorrow and deepest condolences to the families of the victims and their loved ones on the tragic plane accident," the CEO noted.The Boeing 737 took off from Bole International Airport at 8:38 am after which no contact was established with the flight after 8:44 am.

Investigations have been launched to ascertain the cause behind the crash. The airlines will be sending staff at the site of the incident to assist emergency services.The airline also floated emergency hotline numbers for further assistance to the families of the air crash victims.