UPDATES WITH QUOTES BY AIRLINE'S CEO, MORE DETAILS</p> <p>By Addis Getachew</p> <p>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) – All 149 passengers and eight crew on board crashed Ethiopian Airlines are dead, Ethiopia’s state broadcaster on Sunday said.</p> <p>In a statement issued by the airline, Boeing 737 plane bound for Kenya was on a routine flight from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa when it crashed on Sunday morning near the central town of Bushoftu, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the capital.</p> <p>The communication with the flight ET-302 was lost six minutes after it took off, the statement said.</p> <p>Speaking at a news conference, Tewolde Gebremariam, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Airlines, said: “A pilot of the plane made a distress call and said he faced difficulty and wanted to return to Addis Ababa and was given clearance.”</p> <p>Tewolde said the plane crashed shortly after that and the airline’s investigative team witnessed “smoke” ebbing out of the crashed plane when they reached there.</p> <p>“The last time the aircraft flew was yesterday and it came from Johannesburg, South Africa,” he said.</p> <p>The CEO said the crashed plane was a “brand new” which was received from the Boeing on Nov. 15, 2018.</p> <p>“The cause has not yet been determined. Investigation will be made in line with international standards,” Tewolde said.</p> <p>Among the victims, according to the CEO, were 32 Kenyans, 7 Britons, 8 Chinese, 9 Ethiopians, 4 Indians, 18 Canadians and 8 Americans.</p> <p>He said four passengers were holding the United Nations passports.</p> <p>Relatives of the passengers flocked Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to get information about their loved ones.</p> <p>Fighting tears, Mary Atieno, a Nigerian woman, told Anadolu Agency: "I was expecting my husband in Nairobi. I have heard that everyone has died. I just want his body for burial, I even have no words."</p> <p> </p> <p>- Condolence from Kenyan, Ethiopian presidents</p> <p>Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolences to the families that have been affected by the crash.</p> <p>“We are saddened by the news of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger aircraft that is reported to have crashed 6 minutes after takeoff en route to Kenya. My prayers go to all the families and associates of those on board,” Kenyatta said.</p> <p>Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
* Magdalene Mukami in Nairobi contributed to this story.
