Ethiopian plane 'exploded' after take-off
9 February, 2010 | AFP
BEIRUT (AFP) - An Ethiopian jet which crashed off Lebanon's
coast last month exploded after take-off, Lebanon's health minister
said on Tuesday in the first such official comment since the
mysterious crash.
"The plane exploded during flight and the cabin, as well as the bodies
of those on board were dispersed into the sea, in different locations,"
Khalifeh said to explain why some corpses were found dismembered.
"The first bodies which have been retrieved following the crash were
intact but after that, we began to find body pieces or mutilated
corpses," he told reporters.
Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi refused to comment on the reported
explosion. "I have no information about this," he told AFP.
Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 plunged into the Mediterranean
before dawn on January 25, just minutes after take-off from Beirut
airport during a storm.
It was bound for Addis Ababa with 83 passengers and seven crew
on board. No survivors were found and searchers have been
struggling to recover bodies as most victims were believed to be still
strapped to their seats.
There have been conflicting reports as to whether the jet exploded
while airborne or after it hit the water, and officials have said there
will be no answers until the data from the black boxes is analysed.
Lebanon has ruled out sabotage, blaming the bad weather for the
tragedy, and officials have said the captain was instructed by the
control tower to change to a certain heading but then the aircraft took
a different course.
Experts have told AFP that the stormy weather may not have been
the only reason for the crash, and that the aircraft may have had
engine or hydraulics problems.
Witnesses have said they saw a ball of fire as the plane plunged into
the sea and a defence ministry official said on the day of the tragedy
that the plane broke into four pieces before crashing in the
Mediterranean.
Lebanese army divers retrieved one of the plane's two black boxes
on Sunday and Ethiopian Airlines said it has been sent to France for
analysis.
"We cannot say when we'll have news because it is a process and
there is an investigation," spokeswoman Wogayehu Terefe told AFP
in Addis Ababa.
Wogayehu said more bodies had been retrieved but said they were
still waiting for an exact figure. Twenty three bodies had been found
by Sunday.
The probe into the mysterious crash is being carried out by a
Lebanese commission with support from a French body responsible
for technical investigations of air accidents.
US and Ethiopian investigators are also involved.
Courtesy
9 February, 2010 | AFP
BEIRUT (AFP) - An Ethiopian jet which crashed off Lebanon's
coast last month exploded after take-off, Lebanon's health minister
said on Tuesday in the first such official comment since the
mysterious crash.
- Remarks by Jawad
Khalifeh could not be
immediately confirmed
by other officials in
Beirut and came as
Ethiopian Airlines said
one of the plane's
black boxes has been
sent to France for
analysis.
"The plane exploded during flight and the cabin, as well as the bodies
of those on board were dispersed into the sea, in different locations,"
Khalifeh said to explain why some corpses were found dismembered.
"The first bodies which have been retrieved following the crash were
intact but after that, we began to find body pieces or mutilated
corpses," he told reporters.
Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi refused to comment on the reported
explosion. "I have no information about this," he told AFP.
Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 plunged into the Mediterranean
before dawn on January 25, just minutes after take-off from Beirut
airport during a storm.
It was bound for Addis Ababa with 83 passengers and seven crew
on board. No survivors were found and searchers have been
struggling to recover bodies as most victims were believed to be still
strapped to their seats.
There have been conflicting reports as to whether the jet exploded
while airborne or after it hit the water, and officials have said there
will be no answers until the data from the black boxes is analysed.
Lebanon has ruled out sabotage, blaming the bad weather for the
tragedy, and officials have said the captain was instructed by the
control tower to change to a certain heading but then the aircraft took
a different course.
Experts have told AFP that the stormy weather may not have been
the only reason for the crash, and that the aircraft may have had
engine or hydraulics problems.
Witnesses have said they saw a ball of fire as the plane plunged into
the sea and a defence ministry official said on the day of the tragedy
that the plane broke into four pieces before crashing in the
Mediterranean.
Lebanese army divers retrieved one of the plane's two black boxes
on Sunday and Ethiopian Airlines said it has been sent to France for
analysis.
"We cannot say when we'll have news because it is a process and
there is an investigation," spokeswoman Wogayehu Terefe told AFP
in Addis Ababa.
Wogayehu said more bodies had been retrieved but said they were
still waiting for an exact figure. Twenty three bodies had been found
by Sunday.
The probe into the mysterious crash is being carried out by a
Lebanese commission with support from a French body responsible
for technical investigations of air accidents.
US and Ethiopian investigators are also involved.
Courtesy
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