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A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed nearly six minutes after it took off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, 10 March, killing all 157 passengers and eight crew members on board. Of the 157 passengers, four were Indians.
One of the two black boxes on the crashed flight have been recovered by investigators, state media reported on Monday.
People from 32 countries were on board the flight that crashed into a field just 60 kilometres off Addis Ababa. According to the airlines, the flight had taken off at 8:38 am and was scheduled to land in Nairobi at 10:25 am. It lost contact 6 minutes after take-off.
Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday, 11 March, it has grounded its Boeing 737 MAX fleet after the crash.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday after the crash said, “DGCA is reviewing the matter regarding safety issues post accident of Boeing Ethiopian Airline B737-800MAX yesterday. DGCA shall issue additional safety instructions tonight or tomorrow morning in this regard for Indian operators,” ANI reported.
Who Were The 4 Indians on-Board?
Four Indians, including a UN consultant attached with the Environment Ministry, were among those killed in crash, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed hours after the crash.
The four have been identified as Pannagesh Bhaskar Vaidya, Hansini Pannagesh Vaidya, Nukavarapu Manisha and Shikha Garg.
Shikha Garg, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consultant, was on her way to attend a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting scheduled for Monday.
Citizens From China, America, Canada On Board
Ethiopian authorities have said those killed in the crash include Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Italians, French, Britons and Egyptians.
An Ethiopian Airlines spokesperson said 32 Kenyans and 17 Ethiopians were also among the victims.
At least a dozen UN-affiliated personnel were killed in the crash, according to UN source quoted by AFP.
Earlier on Sunday, the prime minister’s office issued a statement, saying that a Boeing 737 MAX was on a regularly scheduled flight when it crashed. The statement gave no further details.
However, a press release by the Ethiopian airlines said that flight number ET302 crashed on 10 March while on its way from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to Nairobi and confirmed that “there are no survivors”.
It said that the crash happened somewhere around Bishoftu, a town in Ethiopia.
There were no immediate details on what caused the crash of the Boeing 737-8 MAX plane, which was new and had been delivered to the airline in November, reported PTI.
Pilot Reported Difficulties, Asked to Return
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told reporters that the pilot had mentioned difficulties and was “given clearance” to turn around.
Boeing 737-800 MAX is the same aircraft type as that of the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October 2018, 13 minutes after takeoff, killing 189 people on board.
Ethiopian and American investigators will now probe the crash.
Following the incident, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will seek information from Boeing as well as Jet Airways and SpiceJet operating Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, PTI reported.
‘Prayer For the Departed Souls’
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday condoled the deaths of four Indian nationals.
Condoling the death of the four Indian nationals, the Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said, "My prayers for the departed souls."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the plane crash near the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, his spokesperson said on Sunday, IANS reported.
"The secretary-general was deeply saddened at the tragic loss of lives in the airplane crash today near Addis Ababa," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
"He conveys his heartfelt sympathies and solidarity to the victims' families and loved ones, including those of UN staff members, as well as sincere condolences to the government and people of Ethiopia," the statement said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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