An Ethiopian Airlines plane enroute to Nairobi from Addis Ababa crashed on Sunday morning immediately after takeoff killing all 157 people on board including eight crew. The crash was first confirmed by the Ethiopian government in a tweet expressing its “deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones.”
The airline released a statement saying the crash happened six minutes after the new Boeing 737 Max-8 took off from the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi.
It said a total of 35 nationalities were onboard including a UN passport holder. 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Chinese, eight Americans and seven British nationals were among the passengers
Take a look at some of the Africans on board the flight who lost their lives below. Our commiserations to their families and loved ones.
1. Yared Getachew and Ahmednur Mohammed
Yared, 29, was the pilot of the plane and Ahmednur was the first officer.
2. Prof. Pius Adesanmi – Nigeria/Canada
He was a Professor at the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
3. Shahaad Abdishakur – Prime Minister of Somalia’s Protocol Officer
4. Cedric Asiavugwa – Kenya
He was a third-year law student at Georgetown University.
5. Kodjo
6. Tamirat Mulu Demessie – Ethiopia
Worked as a Child Protection in Emergencies for non-profit organization Save the Children.
7. Ambassador Abiodun Bashua and Professor Pius Adesanmi – Nigeria
8. Below are some more posts by people and organizations paying tribute to some of the victims.
9. Below is a complete list of the 32 Kenyans who lost their lives.