An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft is reportedly missing after take-off from Beirut airport early today, say media reports quoting airport officials.
The aircraft had 85 passengers on board, according to the reports.
Ethiopian operates a daily flight from Beirut Rafic Hariri International airport to Addis Ababa using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to Innovata. The flight departs daily from Beirut at 02:10hr.
Flugzeug nach Start in Beirut ins Meer gestürzt
Beirut (dpa) - Ein äthiopisches Flugzeug mit 92 Menschen an Bord ist am frühen Morgen kurz nach dem Start in Beirut ins Meer gestürzt. Nach Angaben eines Flughafensprechers ereignete sich das Unglück südlich der libanesischen Hauptstadt. Möglicherweise waren schlechte Witterungsverhältnisse für den Absturz mitverantwortlich. Die Maschine der Ethiopian Airlines war auf dem Weg von Beirut nach Addis Abeba.
An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in Lebanon.
Lebanese aviation sources said the plane was heading for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and had 85 passengers on board.
Reuters news agency quotes airport sources as saying that about 50 of the passengers were Lebanese nationals.
The majority of the remaining passengers were Ethiopian, they add.
Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off, Reuters reports.
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.
