Ethiopian plane crashes off Beirut, 90 feared dead

By Nadim Ladki and Yara Bayoumy

BEIRUT (Reuters) - All 90 people aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane were feared dead after it plunged into the Mediterranean in a ball of fire, minutes after taking off from Beirut in a raging thunderstorm on Monday.

More than 16 hours after the crash and with night falling, authorities downplayed hopes of finding survivors and search efforts focused on recovering the remains of passengers still strapped to their seats and the black box flight recorders.

Flight ET409, a Boeing 737-800, heading for Addis Ababa, disappeared off the radar five minutes after taking off at 2:37 a.m. (0037 GMT).

The Lebanese army said the plane had broken up in the air before plummeting into rough seas. One witness described the impact as a "flash that lit up the whole sea".

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said he did not think the plane had been brought down deliberately, emphasizing "a sabotage attack is unlikely". Defence Minister Elias el-Murr said that weather was "in principle" to blame for the crash.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he had spoken with Lebanese authorities who had no word of survivors. Eighty-three passengers and seven crew were on the flight.

Twenty-four bodies, including those of two toddlers, have so far been recovered. At least six bodies were of Ethiopians, officials said.

Only one of the 14 bodies being examined at a Beirut hospital, where weeping relatives gathered, was recognisable. The rest would require DNA testing to identify them, Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh said.