25/01/2010 Monday was not an ordinary day in Lebanon…
 
Lebanese had to wake up on "sad news" about an "aerial catastrophe" that was caused by the crash of an Ethiopian plane, carrying 90 passengers, including at least 54 Lebanese…
 
In details, an Ethiopian aircraft carrying 90 passengers and crew, including 54 Lebanese, crashed into the Mediterranean sea off Lebanon in a fireball just after takeoff in stormy weather early Monday.
 
The airliner transporting 90 passengers, including 54 Lebanese, and a seven –member crew crashed in stormy weather just after four minutes from takeoff and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea.
At least 28 bodies have been recovered so far at the time rescue efforts are still ongoing with no news about survivors yet.
 
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said during a press conference that authorities had ruled out terrorism or sabotage as the cause of the crash. "Up until now we have ruled out foul play," Suleiman told reporters. The president put on alert all medical and security forces. He said hospitals should also be ready to receive victims.  Sleiman added that efforts to find survivors are ongoing under difficult weather conditionsTop military officials, including Army Chief Jean Qajwaji, attended the press conference.
 
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri as well as Prime minister Saad al- Hariri and a number of other ministers and deputies also rushed to the airport to compensate the distressed families and follow up resue efforts.  Interior Minister Ziad Baroud ordered ambulances to the Khalde-Naameh beachfront to carry victims and bodies retrieved from the waters.
Hariri urged media outlets not to estimate or make theories related to the circumstances leading to the crash before recovering the black box. "It is the government's job to find out how the plane crashed," Hariri said during a press conference. The prime minister also told media outlets to feel with the distressed families. "Only those who have lost loved one can know how the families are feeling now," he added. The PM said that divers from Cyprus and the Sixth US Fleet will help in rescue efforts."Our hearts are with the families of the victims."
 
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Elias Murr said that a fierce storm appears to have caused the crash of the jet. "Bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash," Murr told reporters. "We have ruled out foul play so far," he added. The fact that soldiers combing the Lebanese shoreline had recovered pieces of the plane supported the belief that the crash was caused by the storm rather than an explosion, Murr said. "When there is an explosion (on board an airplane) nothing is usually left."
 
"We will continue search operations in the hope of finding survivors," Murr said, adding that no deadline had been set. "We are seeking to recover the black box and the recording between the control tower and the pilot to determine what happened." He added that Prime Minister Saad Hariri would chair an emergency ministerial meeting later Monday to assess the situation.
 
For his part, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 lost contact with the airport control tower shortly after takeoff and crashed into the sea about 12 kilometers south of the airport. "The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters, adding that the Boeing 737 crashed some 3.5 kilometers off the coast.
 
He said the passengers include 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one French woman, one Syrian and seven crew members. There were also several dual nationals including two British-Lebanese, one Canadian-Lebanese and a Russian-Lebanese.

Witnesses reported seeing saw a ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea. The weather in Lebanon was stormy and thunders had accompanied strong winds and heavy rain.

 The wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon was on board the airliner. "Among the names on the passenger list was that of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ambassador Denis Pietton took up his post in Lebanon in September.

 Aridi said he had formed an investigative committee to determine the cause of the crash and had contacted nearby countries to assist in the search and rescue effort.

The Lebanese army, navy as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were assisting in the rescue, Aridi added.

"We have contacted everyone, inside and outside the country, that can assist us and the Lebanese navy, the army and UNIFIL have joined in the rescue," the minister added.
 
Families of the passengers, some of them weeping, could be seen arriving at Beirut International Airport and, where they were escorted to a private area to await news of their loved ones.