An Ethiopian airliner carrying 90 passengers and crew has crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut’s international airport.
Two British passport holders were on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, bound for Addis Ababa, when the Boeing 737-800 plunged into the sea in what witnesses described as a “ball of fire”.
The fate of those on board remains unclear, but so far there have been no reports of survivors.
According to Lebanese officials, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens five minutes after taking off from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport during a thunder storm and heavy rain..
Shortly after 2.40am local time (0040 GMT), it crashed into the sea two miles west of the coastal village of Na’ameh, Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon’s transport minister, told reporters at the airport. Na’ameh lies six miles south of Beirut.
Emergency crews were ordered to begin what the minister described as a “search and rescue” operation”, terminology which signalled that the Lebanese authorities have not yet abandoned hopes of finding survivors.
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