Ethiopian Airlines Plane Crashes

A Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to the Ethiopian Airlines has crashed off the coast of Lebanon into the Mediterranean Sea. It is believed to have crashed off the Na'ameh village, which is a few miles to the south of Beirut, into the Mediterranean Sea. The plane had 90 people on board (82 passengers and 8 crew members), and was flying from Beirut to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Most of the passengers on the plane were Lebanese and Ethiopian. The aircraft took off around 2:10 am local, in stormy weather from the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, and is said to have vanished from the radar within just 5 minutes. The aircraft had just flown in to Beirut from Addis Ababa earlier in the night.

There is already wreckage from the plane crash off the Lebanese coast. Lebanon has already launched a rescue mission, and as of now there is no news of any survivors. There were eyewitnesses quoted as saying that they saw a ball of fire in the sky before the jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. There was thunderstorm and heavy rain in the area. Senior Lebanese officials and relatives of many passengers have rushed to the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, all eager to get information and updates about loved ones.

Ethiopian Airlines is state owned, and has been expanding operations a lot lately. They are already a major operator in Africa and have also been increasing operations in the Asian region off late. They have also placed orders for Boeing's Next-Generation 737-800s aircraft, to facilitate operational expansion.