An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 heading to the Kenyan capital Nairobi has crashed near Addis Ababa, the airline said on Sunday morning.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800 MAX with flight number ET 302, lost contact 6 minutes after taking off at 08:38 am local time from Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital, the airline said in a statement.
The aircraft went down around around Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa. The airline believes there were 149 passengers and eight crew members on board.
"At this time search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible causalities. Ethiopian Airlines staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services," the airlines statement read.
The airline added that a passenger information center and hotline "will be available shortly for family or friends of those who may have been on flight."
The Ethiopian government expressed its "deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning," the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.
The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning.
— Office of the Prime Minister - Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) March 10, 2019
Ethiopia Airlines has gained the reputation of being one of the best airlines in Africa. It has a good safety record and the newest fleet of planes on the African continent.