UPDATE: Lightning hits Ethiopian plane, 35 bodies found - Videos

• UPDATE: Reports of survivors have not been confirmed by other sources. Some news agencies have claimed that all passengers and crew have died. Meles Zenawi declared January 25 a "National day of mourning." South Afica President Jacob Zuma sent condolences to the families of people who died. Atleast 35 Bodies and pieces of the plane, including passenger seats, a fire extinguisher and bottles of medicine, found ashore. The bodies of 2 toddlers and 6 Ethiopians was among the dead bodies found as well as that of the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon, Marla Sanchez Pietton. A weeping Ethiopian relative of a passenger reportedly fainted in Lebanon airport and was carried away to a hospital. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said "I have contact with the Lebanese authorities, who have not yet confirmed any survivors"

The bodies of at least 35 people have been recovered after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast off Lebanon, military officials have said.

Chris Yates, a UK-based aviation analyst, said that modern aircraft are built to withstand all but the foulest weather conditions. "One wouldn't have thought that a nasty squall in and of itself would be the prime cause of an accident like this," he said. He said that reports of fire could suggest "some cataclysmic failure of one of the engines" or that something had been sucked into the engine, such as a bird or debris.Tobias Rueckerl, an aviation consultant, said: "It is much too early to speculate about the cause, but it seems like the weather had a major impact on that crash.

"Ethiopian airlines is one of the much better African airlines," he told Al Jazeera from Hamburg in Germany."They have a comparably young fleet of aircraft, they have very well trained people, they are following near Euoprean standards. So I would count them as a safe airline basically.

• READ FULL STORY: AL JAZEERA

Ethiopian Consulate publishes names of Ethiopian Flight 409 passengers

1- Kidist Wolde Mariam
2- Bahrnesh Megersa
3- Addis Abera Demise
4- Woinshet Meugistu Melaku
5- Etenesh Admasie
6- Rahel Tadese
7- Elsabet Tilhum Habtemariam
8- Alunesh Tkele
9- Hani Gebre Gembezo
10- Tigist Shikur Hajana
11- Azeb Betre Kebede
12- Aynalem Tessema
13- Seble Agezc
14- Yikma Mohamed
15- Selam Zigdaya
16- Shitu Nuri
17- Askalech Soboka
18- Tigist Anura
19- Lakech Zeleke
20- Mekiya Sirur
21- Eyerus Alem Desta
22- Meselu Beshah
23- Edeti Gutema Legesse

An Ethiopian Airlines plane with about 90 people on board crashed into the sea early Monday shortly after takeoff from Beirut, aviation and security officials said.

Local media quoted Lebanese army officials as saying that seven survivors had been rescued. According to other reports, police officers said there had been two survivors. The conflicting reports of survivors did not specify the nationalities involved.

An airport official said the Ethiopian Airlines plane was struck by lightning before fell into the sea. 

• READ FULL STORY

Ethiopian airliner crashes on takeoff from Beirut

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.

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

READ FULL STORY: GLOBE AND MAIL

Helicopters and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Lebanese army vessels search for survivors

An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane with 89 people on board has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut airport. Eyewitnesses say they saw a ball of fire in the sky before Addis Ababa-bound Flight ET409 fell into the sea after taking off in stormy weather. At least two bodies have been recovered.

Most of those on board were Lebanese or Ethiopian, and two Britons were also on the passenger list. The other passengers included citizens of Turkey, France, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq, Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement on its website. 

Among them was the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut, Marla Pietton.

The plane, a Boeing 737, was carrying 80 passengers and nine crew.
It disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather at about 0200 local time.

'Flash in the sky'

The BBC's Natalia Antelava, in Beirut, reports that the Lebanese transport minister and other officials say a rescue operation including helicopters and naval ships is now under way, but it is unclear if there are any survivors.  An investigative team has been dispatched to the scene, Ethiopian Airlines said. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but the plane took off in a heavy rainstorm.
A witness , Abdel Mahdi Salaneh, told the BBC he saw the plane fall into the sea in flames. 

"We saw a flash in the sky...," he said. We saw a flash over the sea and it was the plane falling. The weather was really bad, it was all thunder and rain."

Ethiopia and Lebanon share close business ties, and thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
Ethiopian Airlines operates a regular flight between Addis Ababa and Beirut.

READ FULL STORY: BBC

Ethiopian religious leaders leave Bole International airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 after consoling relatives of passengers on board an Ethiopian airline which crashed after taking off from Beirut airport. (AP)

 President Sleiman's Press Conference after the Ethiopian Airliner crash off Beirut Lebanon

Search and rescue operations