All 149 passengers and eight crew members aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800MAX have been confirmed dead following a crash near Nairobi, according to airline officials.
The aircraft, en route to Kenya, crashed just six minutes after departing Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport at 8:38 a.m. local time. It lost contact at 8:44 a.m., with search and rescue operations ongoing.
Corporate Communications Director Asrat Begashaw confirmed 33 nationalities were aboard the new aircraft, with the airline planning a press conference to provide further details. A statement from Ethiopian Airlines noted the plane’s registration number ET-AVJ and the timeline of the incident.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Deputy President William Ruto, and AU Envoy Raila Odinga all issued condolences, expressing sorrow for the victims and support for affected families. The Ethiopian government’s office reiterated its grief on social media, calling the crash a ‘deep tragedy.’
The Star reported the incident, citing official statements from the airline and government officials.
