| Situation Update No. 6 Ref.no.: VI-20100125-24688-LBN
Situation Update No. 6
On 2010-01-26 at 04:08:39 [UTC]
Event: Vehicle Accident
Location: Lebanon Capital City Mediterranean Sea Beirut
Number of Deads: 90 person(s)
Situation: All 90 people on board an Ethiopian Airlines plane were feared dead after it exploded in a ball of flame and plunged into the Mediterranean, minutes after taking off from Beirut in a thunderstorm. A massive international search and rescue operation involving helicopters and ships was scrambled as Lebanese officials blamed the storm for yesterday morning’s disaster and played down hopes of finding any survivors. Last night 24 bodies had been pulled from the sea, including that of a child. One rescue official said that some of the bodies recovered were dismembered while another said bodies were floating in the water. The health ministry said it had set up a crisis unit to identify the victims through DNA tests or items of jewellery found on the bodies. Debris from the Boeing 737, which was headed to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, as well as luggage and personal belongings could be seen washing up on the shoreline south of Beirut. A defence ministry official said that the plane exploded into four pieces before crashing into the sea shortly after takeoff at 2.35am in a heavy thunderstorm. Defence Minister Elias Murr said it appeared the storm was to blame. “Bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash,” Murr said. “We have ruled out foul play so far,” he added. Witnesses reported seeing flames as the plane plunged into the sea. One employee of a gas station near the site of the crash said he heard an explosion and saw “a huge ball of fire” as the plane crashed. Officials listed 83 passengers and seven crew members on board the flight. The passengers comprise 54 Lebanese, 23 Ethiopians, one French woman, one British national, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Turkish, one unknown and seven crew members. |  |
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