ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The Latest on Ethiopian Airlines crash (all times local): 6 a.m. Chinas civilian aviation authority has ordered all Chinese airlines…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The Latest on Ethiopian Airlines crash (all times local):
6 a.m.
Chinas civilian aviation authority has ordered all Chinese airlines to temporarily ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after one of the aircraft crashed in Ethiopia.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said the order was issued at 9 a.m. Beijing time Monday and would last nine hours.
It said the order was taken out of safety concerns because the Ethiopian crash was the second in similar circumstances since an Indonesian crash in December also killed everyone aboard.
It said further notice would be issued after consultation with the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing on safety measures taken.
Eight Chinese nationals were among the 157 people aboard the plane when it crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff.
12:30 a.m.
The Norwegian Refugee Council says it is « deeply distressed » by the Ethiopian Airlines crash and that two colleagues are missing.
A statement says the two staffers had been scheduled to travel on the Sunday morning flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in neighboring Kenya.
The statement gives no further details.
All 157 people on the plane were killed.
11:17 p.m.
The United Nations migration agency says the U. N. and its agencies on Monday will fly flags at half-staff after early indications show 19 employees of U. N.-affiliated organizations died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
A statement says the organizations include World Bank, International Telecommunications Union, the U. N. Environment Program and others.
The statement also says one of the migration agencys staffers died. Anne-Katrin Feigl was a German national who was en route to a training course in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the planes destination.
All 157 people on board died minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa.
11 p.m.
Nigerias foreign affairs ministry says a former ambassador is among the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
A statement says Abiodun Oluremi Bashua was a retired career envoy who served in various capacities in Iran, Austria and Ivory Coast.
It says the ambassador, born in 1951, was a « seasoned U. N. expert » with experience in several United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa.
All 157 people died when the plane crashed minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa.
10:30 p.m.
The World Food Program is confirming that two of the eight Italian victims aboard the Ethiopian Airlines jet worked for the Rome-based U. N. agency.
A WFP spokeswoman identified the victims as Virginia Chimenti and Maria Pilar Buzzetti.
Another three Italians worked for the Bergamo-based humanitarian agency Africa Tremila: Carlo Spini, his wife Gabriella Viggiani and the treasurer, Matteo Ravasio.
In addition, Paolo Dieci, a prominent aid advocate with the International Committee for the Development of Peoples, known by its acronym CISP, was killed.
Also among the Italian dead was Sebastiano Tusa, a noted underwater archaeologist and the Sicilian regional assessor at the Culture Ministry. RAI state television said he was heading to Malindi, Kenya to participate in a UNESCO conference on safeguarding underwater cultural heritage in east Africa, which opens Monday.
10:15 p.m.
A U. N. official says the United Nations expects that about a dozen passengers affiliated with the world organization were on the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed outside Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board, but it could be more.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Sunday that national delegates who might have been heading to U. N. meetings, including the U. N. Environment Programs assembly, wouldnt be included in the count.
U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said some colleagues were among the victims.
Earlier, U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is « deeply saddened » by the crash that including U. N. staff members, according to a statement from U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who gave no details.
–By Edith M. Lederer
10:10 p.m.
The father of a British woman named Joanna Toole has told the DevonLive website that he has been informed that she was among the people who died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Adrian Toole said his 36-year-old daughter Joanna was traveling for her work for the United Nations.
He told the website she was a fervent environmentalist who had worked on animal welfare issues since she was a child.
He said « Joannas work was not a job, it was her vocation. »
Adrian Toole said his daughter used to bring home pigeons and rats in need of care and had traveled to the remote Faroe Islands to try to stop whaling there.
She is one of seven British nationals confirmed to have died in the crash.
According to her Facebook page, she worked for the U. N.s Food and Agriculture Organization.
9:55 p.m.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is deeply saddened by the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people, including 18 Canadians.
Trudeau said in a statement he joins the international community in mourning the lives of so many. He says the Canadian government is providing consular assistance and working with local authorities to gather further information.
He said he is reaching out to Kenyas president and Ethiopias prime minister. The flight departed from Addis Ababa and was heading to Nairobi.
9:40 p.m.
The Paris prosecutors office has opened an investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines crash because there are French citizens among the 157 killed.
The prosecutors office announced the decision Sunday, without elaborating. It is a standard procedure when French citizens are killed abroad.
The French government announced that eight French people are among the victims and opened a crisis center for families of victims, but is not releasing the identities. The airline says seven French citizens are among the victims. The reason for the discrepancy isnt immediately clear in the chaos of the crash aftermath.
Separately, Frances air accident authority, known as the BEA, said it would likely be involved in the Ethiopian-led investigation because French company Safran jointly manufactured the Boeing jets engines along with General Electric.
9:25 p.m.
The U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees says « it is with great sadness and shock » that refugee agency colleagues were among the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash.
A statement by Filppo Grandi says his office is working to confirm how many colleagues were on board the plane that crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
Both cities are hubs for humanitarian workers.
The statement also says that « colleagues from the United Nations and other partners were also on board. »
None of the 157 people on board survived.
8:40 p.m.
The United Nations secretary-general says he is « deeply saddened » by the Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa and sends his sympathies to families of the victims, who include U. N. staff members.
The statement by the spokesman for Antonio Guterres gives no details on the victims but says the U. N. is working closely with Ethiopian authorities.
Ethiopian Airlines list of 35 nationalities represented by the victims notes that one had a U. N. passport.
The plane was heading to Nairobi, where a U. N. environment summit starts on Monday.
8:25 p.m.
Ethiopias House of Peoples Representatives has declared Monday a national day of mourning for all 157 victims of Sundays crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa.
