Raven_the_Bird
<font color=darkorchid>Don't make me be myself aro
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2007
- Messages
- 83,430
I kicked something and the dogs barked so my sister thinks they barked at her since she was walking by...lol.
BEIRUT An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in flames early Monday just minutes after takeoff from Beirut, authorities said.
Four bodies were recovered in the hours after the crash as authorities combed through the choppy waters under gray skies, a Lebanese military official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
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.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected. "Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said.
The Boeing 737-800 took off around 2:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) 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 Lebanese army said in a statement saying the plane was "on fire shortly after takeoff."
The wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon was on the plane, according to an embassy official who asked that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort amid intermittent rain, thunder and lightning.
Ethiopian Airlines released a statement on its Web site confirming the plane was missing.