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Ethiopia jet 'crashes off Beirut' Ethiopian jet crashes off Beirut
(40 minutes later)
An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in Lebanon. An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut airport.
Lebanese aviation sources said the plane was heading for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and had 85 passengers on board. Eyewitnesses say they saw a ball of fire in the sky before the jet, which was was bound for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, crashed into the sea.
Reuters news agency quotes airport sources as saying that about 50 of the passengers were Lebanese nationals. Wreckage from the plane has reportedly been seen off the Lebanese coast.
The majority of the remaining passengers were Ethiopian, they add. About 50 of the passengers on board were said to be Lebanese nationals, and most of the rest were Ethiopian.
Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, reportedly disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather. The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, is said to have disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather at about 0200 local time.
The plane is said to have left Beirut shortly after its scheduled departure time of 0310 local time.
Residents who live near the coast are reported to have witnessed a plane on fire crashing into the sea.
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