“Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus eight Ethiopian crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, one Turkish, one French, two British, one Russian, one Canadian, one Syrian and one Iraqi national.” A source at the French embassy in Beirut who requested anonymity said the ambassador’s wife was on board the plane.
“On the passengers’ list we saw the name of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon,” a Lebanese security source said earlier.
An airport official said the Ethiopian Airlines plane was struck by lightning before it fell into the sea.
The Boeing aircraft disappeared off the radar screens shortly after takeoff, the state-run Lebanese National News Agency reported.
Witnesses in the area said they heard a loud noise and then saw a plane on
fire plunging into the water.
Rescue teams were seen gathering near the area where the plane reportedly crashed.
“The weather is not helping us at all,” a member of the rescue team said. “But we hope to find some survivors.” Mr. Aridi said the crash site had been identified at 3.5 km west of the coastal village of Na’ameh.
Some Reports not official from beirut so far 7 survivors were located .