BEIRUT, Jan 25, (Agencies): 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 am (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, emphasising “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.
Khalifeh said hopes were fading for any survivors. A US navy ship with advanced equipment arrived in Lebanon to aid in the night search.
The remains of mangled debris, aircraft seats and luggage washed up on the shore south of Beirut where the airport’s main runway is located.
Fifty-four of those on board were Lebanese, 22 were Ethiopian, two were British and there were also Canadian, Russian, French, Iraqi, Syrian, and Turkish nationals.
Marla Pietton, wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, was on the plane, the embassy said. Most of the Lebanese passengers were Shi’ites from southern Lebanon who have business interests in Africa.
The Lebanese government declared a day of mourning. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri visited the airport to meet distraught relatives, some of whom were angry that the plane was allowed to take off in bad weather.
“They should have delayed the flight for an hour or two to protect the passengers. There had been strong lightning bolts and we hear that lightning strikes at planes especially during take-offs,” a relative of one of the passengers said.
Girma said he did not think the crew would have taken off in dangerous weather conditions.
“There was bad weather. How bad it is, I will not be able to say. But, from what I see, probably it was manageable weather otherwise the crew would not have taken off,” he told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
A team of investigators from Ethiopia, including Ethiopian Airlines officials, arrived in Beirut. Boeing said it was coordinating with the US National Transportation Safety Board to assist Lebanese authorities in the probe.
Lebanese army, UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Cypriot police and the British military stationed in Cyprus provided helicopters, ships and divers to aid search and rescue effort in an area off Na’ameh, 10 kms (six miles) south of the capital.
State-owned Ethiopian Airlines has positioned itself as a major player in international air traffic in Africa and has recently expanded its Asian network.
Girma said the plane, built in 2002, last underwent a maintenance check on Dec 25 and no technical problems were found. The plane had been leased from a division of US financing company CIT Group.
Last Friday the airline announced an order for 10 of Boeing’s Next-Generation 737-800s for a total price of $767 million.

Relatives of passengers on an Ethiopian jet which crashed off Lebanon Monday thronged a Beirut hospital, many in tears or overtaken by anger, as specialists began identifying the bodies.
“I’m her son, let me in,” said Ali Wazni, in his 20s, as he pleaded with security officials to allow him into a room at Rafiq Hariri state hospital south of Beirut where passengers were arriving in bodybags.
Wazni told AFP that his mother Haifa, his newlywed sister Rawan and her husband were on board the plane, headed to Mozambique with a stopover in Addis Ababa.
“I drove them to the airport early this morning and when I got home I heard that the plane had crashed and I rushed back with my father,” he said, fighting back tears.
“We walked the beach near the airport hoping to find anything,” he added. “If I could dive I would have gone in myself.”
A young boy named Ali comforted his mother, who tearfully asked him repeatedly if he had any news of his father, who was also on board. “Not yet,” he replied.
Another 15-year-old gently helped his mother sip a glass of water in a corner where she had nearly collapsed in tears.
One couple gave up after a few hours of trying to get any information on a family member.
“The officials here aren’t telling us anything. At least if we go home, the television will tell us something,” they said as they left the lounge.

Kuwait
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of condolences to the President of Lebanon Michel Sulayman, expressing sympathy on the death of the passengers boarding the plane.
Their Highnesses the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to the leader with like sentiment.
The Amir also sent a similar cable to the President of Ethiopia Girma Woldegiorgis.