Ethiopian jet crashes off Lebanon, 90 on board

An Ethiopian airliner transporting 90 passengers, including 54 Lebanese nationals and seven crew members crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut International Airport early Monday, Al Arabiya reporter said.

The Boeing 737 plane plunged into the Mediterranean, Al Arabiya reporter Adnan Ghalmoush said, pointing out that stormy weather might be the cause of the crash.

Twenty bodies were recovered in the hours after the crash as authorities combed through the waters under gray skies, a Lebanese military official said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but a police official said it was likely weather-related. Beirut has seen heavy rain and lightning since Sunday.

No foul play

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said that authorities had ruled out terrorism or sabotage as the cause of the crash of the jet.

"Up until now we have ruled out foul play," Suleiman told reporters.

The Boeing 737-800 took off for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, said Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister.

"The weather undoubtedly was very bad," Aridi told reporters at the airport. He added that the plane went down about 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) off the Lebanese coast.

"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters.

Up until now we have ruled out foul play

lebanese President Michel Suleiman

He said search and rescue operations were underway but refused to give any further details. He also said it was too early to say what caused the crash, but confirmed the plane took off from Beirut international airport in stormy weather. Aridi said an investigation into the cause was underway.

The Lebanese army said in a statement saying the plane was "on fire shortly after takeoff."

Witnesses said they saw a ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea."

The wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon was on board an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed off the Lebanese coast on Monday, the French embassy said.

Ambassador Denis Pietton started his post in Lebanon last October. An official at the French embassy confirmed that Marla Pietton was a passenger.

Rescue efforts

Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort amid intermittent rain, thunder and lightning.

Relatives of the passengers began arriving at the airport early Monday, many of them crying and hugging. Officials led them into a VIP area.

Aridi said the passengers include 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one French woman, one Syrian and seven crew members. There were also several dual nationals including two British-Lebanese, one Canadian-Lebanese and a Russian-Lebanese.

Ethiopian Airlines has long had a reputation for high-quality service compared to other African airlines, with two notable crashes in more than 20 years.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet crash-landed off the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel in November 1996, killing 126 of the 175 people aboard. The plane had just left Addis Ababa when three hijackers stormed the cockpit and demanded to be taken to Australia.

In September 1988, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after taking off when it ran into a flock of birds, killing 31 of the 104 people on board.

The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason

Minister of Transportation Ghazi Aridi

The Boeing 737-800, which entered into commercial service in 1998, is one of the latest versions of the world's most widely used short to medium-haul airliners, and is capable of carrying up to 189 passengers.

The accident took place amid heavy rains and storms in Lebanon in the past two days that have caused heavy flooding and damages in some part of the country.

It also comes just one month after a Panamian-flagged ship transporting livestock capsized in similar weather and sank off the coast of northern Lebanon with around 80 sailors on board.

Names of Lebanese victims

Al Arabiya got the names of the Lebanese victims who were on board of the Ethiopian crashed airliner:

Hanna Nakhouk Kredy
Haidar Hassan Murggy
Ali Youssef Jaber
Alli Ahmed Jaber
Abbas Mohammed Jaber
Mohammed Mustafa Bedouni
Khalil Ibrahim Saleh
Hassan Adnan Kreik
Saad Abdul Hassan Zahr
Hussein Ali Farahat
Mohammed Hassan Kreik
Ali Suhail Yaghy
Rowan Hassan Wazna
Bassem Qassem Khazaal
Haifaa Ahmed Wazna
Ali Ahmed Taj Eddin
Tanal Abdullah Fardoun
Mustafa Haitham Aranout
Fouad Mohammed al-Laqeis
Mohammed Kamal Akkoush
Tony Elias al-Zakhem
Hamza Ali Jafar
Hassan Mohammed Eissawi
Hassan Kamal Ibrahim
Ghassan Ibrahim Qatterggi
Hifaa Ibrahim al-Farran
Hussein Youssef Hajj Ali
Fares Rashid Zubian
Farid Saad Mully
Mohammed Ali Qatebi
Yasser Youssef Mahdi
Anis Mustafa Safa
Hussein Moussa Barakat
Antoine Tawfiq al-Hayek
Elias Anonios Rafee
Tarek George Barakat
Khalil Naggi al-Khazen
Rana Youssef al-Haraka
Mohammed Abbas al-Hussein al-Hajj
Julia Mohammed al-Hajj
Hussein Kamal Hayek
Asaad Masoud al-Faghali
Ziad Naim al-Qesefi
Reda Ali Mestokardi
Albert gergy Assal
Emad Ahmed Hazer
Fouad Mohammed Jaber
Khalil Mohammed Madani
Hassan Mohammed Abdul Muhsen Taj Eddin
Yasser Abdul Hussein Ismail
Jamal Ali Khatoun
Afif Kresht
Abbas Huweily
Anna Mohammed Ebbs