Ethiopian airliner crashes on takeoff in Leba

An Ethiopian airliner transporting 90 passengers and crew crashed in stormy weather following takeoff in Lebanon

BEIRUT (AFP) - An Ethiopian jet carrying 90 passengers and crew plunged into the sea off Lebanon in a ball of fire just after takeoff in stormy weather early Monday, witnesses and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said.
It was unclear whether there were any survivors.
Aridi said Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 lost contact with the airport control tower shortly after takeoff and crashed into the Mediterranean sea about 12 kilometres (seven miles) south of the airport.
"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters, adding that the Boeing 737 crashed some 3.5 kilometres off the coast.
Families of the passengers, some of them weeping, could be seen arriving at Beirut International Airport, where they were escorted to a private area to await news of their loved ones.
Witnesses reported seeing saw a ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea.
The accident took place amid heavy rains and storms in Lebanon in the past two days that have caused heavy flooding and damages in some parts of the country.

An Ethiopian airliner crashed into the Mediterranean sea with 90 people on board
Aridi said the passengers include 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one French woman, one Syrian and seven crew members. There were also several dual nationals including two British-Lebanese, one Canadian-Lebanese and a Russian-Lebanese.
A government official told AFP that among the passengers was the wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton.
"Among the names on the passenger list was that of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Ambassador Denis Pietton took up his post in Lebanon in September.
An airport official had initially said that 92 people were on board the doomed flight, which he said crashed about five minutes after takeoff at 2:30 am (1230 GMT).
Aridi said he had formed an investigative committee to determine the cause of the crash and had contacted nearby countries to assist in the search and rescue effort.
The Lebanese army, navy as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were assisting in the rescue, Aridi added.
"We have contacted everyone, inside and outside the country, that can assist us and the Lebanese navy, the army and UNIFIL have joined in the rescue," the minister added.
He said the French organisation responsible for technical investigation of civil aviation accidents was taking part in the probe.
The Boeing 737-800, which entered into commercial service in 1998, is one of the latest versions of the world's most widely used short to medium-haul airliners, and is capable of carrying up to 189 passengers.
The accident comes just one month after a Panamian-flagged ship transporting livestock capsized in stormy weather and sank off the coast of northern Lebanon with around 80 sailors on board.
The majority of the sailors were rescued but 26 were unaccounted for and presumed dead.

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