Ethiopian Airlines Plane Crash: 32 Kenyans Among 157 Killed

32 Kenyans are among 157 people who perished following Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, the government has said.

Addressing the press on Sunday, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the Kenyan government has dispatched a team to Addis Ababa to collect accurate and more up-to-date information.

He said the team led by Transport Principal Secretary Esther Koimett and Director of Air Transport Nicholas Bodo will land in Ethiopia on Sunday evening.

The other passengers in the Boeing 737-800MAX flight are from 33 countries including: Canada (18), Egypt (6), Ethiopia (9), France (7), US (8), Netherlands (5), Slovakia (4), Sweden (3), China (8) and Britain (7).

Spain, Israel, Morocco, and Poland had two nationals each on the ill-fated flight while Belgium, Indonesia, Ireland, Mozambique, Norway, Saudi, Sudan, Somalia, Serbia, Togo, Uganda, Yemeni, Nepal, and Nigeria had one each.

There are no survivors in the crash whose cause is yet to be confirmed.

The crash is reported to have happened at 08.44 local time, just six minutes after the flight left Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa for Nairobi, Kenya.

The plane crashed near the town of Bishoftu, which is 60km south-east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The aircraft was delivered to the airline four months ago.