News of an Ethiopian Airlines crash has the Internet reeling. Multiple media outlets are reporting Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The control tower lost contact with the flight six minutes after take off, landing went near Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa. According to CNN, of the 157 victims, 32 different nationalities were represented including 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadian, nine Ethiopians, eight Americans, eight Italians, seven UK nationals and eight Chinese passengers.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed offered condolences to the victims and their families. He was the first to break the news of the crash via Twitter.
The new plane was being piloted by a veteran pilot who had contacted the control tower to ask to return back to Addis Abba due to technical difficulties and was cleared to do so. Flight 302 was a Boeing 737 Max 8, the same type of plane involved in the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed soon after takeoff from Jakarta in 2018, killing 189 people.
This story is developing.
For more information visit CNN or AllAfrica.com.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow us on Twitter @TheBurton Wire.
