Ethiopian passenger plane crash into Mediterranean sea
09:59, 25 January 2010
BEIRUT. January 25. KAZINFORM An Ethiopian Airlines plane, with at least 85 people on board, fell into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut Monday, the Al-Jazeera TV channel reported, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
But the Lebanese news agency reported that 92 people were on board.
A Lebanese aviation official said contact with the plane was lost about 45 minutes after its takeoff around 3:10 a.m. (0010 GMT). It remains unknown which city the plane was bound for.
Poor weather conditions may have contributed to the accident, according to local reports, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.