Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Beirut, Jan 25, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Rescue crew found about nine bodies in the search for survivors in the Ethiopian Airlines crash that had taken place in the wee hours on Monday. However, no survivors were found following the search. There is some confusion regarding the number of people who had perished in the crash, out of the 90 who had been aboard the aircraft. Among them were 23 Ethiopians, an Iraqi, a Turk, a Canadian, a Russian, 51 Lebanese, one French and two British, and seven crew members. Some sources report that about five bodies have been discovered. The search was rendered even more difficult owing to the terrible weather conditions, the same that had reportedly been responsible for the crash itself.

The Boeing 737-800 dispatched from the Rafik Fariri International Airport at around 2:30 in the morning, amidst heavy rain. While on its way to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, it got disconnected from the radar connection, only a few minutes after it had taken off from the airport. The flight had crashed in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Lebanon. Although the real cause of the crash has yet not been confirmed, it is being assumed that turbulent weather conditions are responsible. According to the President of Lebanon, Michel Sulayman, there are no suspicions of foul play.

The Lebanese government called upon the help of the army in the rescue operations. The United Nations Interim Force also joined hands in the search. However, the rescue operations were being gravely hindered by heavy rains accompanied by high waves, helped along by a strong gale and, although President Michel Sulayman assured that as many people as possible would be rescued.