A jetliner carrying 157 people crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital Sunday, killing everyone aboard, authorities said. At least 35 nationalities were among the dead.
It was not clear what caused the Ethiopian Airlines plane to go down in clear weather. But the accident was strikingly similar to last year’s crash of a Lion Air jet that plunged into the Java Sea, killing 189 people. Both crashes involved the Boeing 737 Max 8, and both happened minutes after the jets became airborne.
The Ethiopian pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return to the airport, the airline’s CEO told reporters.
Worried families gathered at the flight’s destination, the airport in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya.
Agnes Muilu said he came to pick up his brother. “I just pray that he is safe or he was not on it,” he said.
Relatives were frustrated by the lack of information about loved ones.
“Why are they taking us round and round. It is all over the news that the plane crashed,” said Edwin Ong’undi, who was waiting for his sister. “All we are asking for is information to know about their fate.”
The accident is likely to renew questions about the 737 Max, the newest version of Boeing’s popular single-aisle airliner.
