Monday, January 25, 2010

Beirut: 90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes into Mediterranean,90 feared dead in Mediterranean crash; Canadian aboard‎


 90 feared dead in Mediterranean crash; Canadian aboard
Two British nationals were among the 90 passengers and crew on board an Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut's international airport.
Debris of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea near Beirut Photo: EPA

According to Lebanese officials, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens five minutes after taking off from Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport Photo: AP Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 was just minutes into its journey to Addis Ababa when the Boeing 737-800 plunged into the sea in what witnesses described as a "ball of fire". At least 23 bodies have been recovered so far and there have been no reports of survivors. According to Lebanese officials, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens five minutes after taking off from Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport during a thunder storm and heavy rain. Shortly after 2.40am local time (0040 GMT), it crashed into the sea two miles west of the coastal village of Na'ameh, Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon's transport minister, said at the airport. Na'ameh lies six miles south of Beirut. Emergency crews were ordered to begin what the minister described as a "search and rescue" operation", terminology which signalled that the Lebanese authorities have not yet abandoned hopes of finding survivors. President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected in the crash. "Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said.
Saad Hariri, Lebanon's prime minister, declared Monday a national day of mourning. After arriving at the airport to offer comfort to the relatives of those on board the flight, he said: "We are working with all the power we have to try and find missing people from this tragedy."We are working to find the black box that will tell us what really happened on the plane." Lebanese army patrol boats were seen scouring the waters around the crash site. Helicopters from nearby Cyprus were also heading towards the scene, while British soldiers stationed on the island were ordered to remain on standby to assist if required. The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNAFIL, also sent helicopters to the crash site. An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched. Officials declined to say whether or not fierce winds and driving rain that lashed the Levantine coast overnight could have been a factor. Of the 83 passengers and seven crew on board the stricken aircraft, 54 were Lebanese nationals and 22 were Ethiopians. Two passengers carried British passports, while Canadian, French, Russian, Iraqi and Syrian nationals were also listed on the passenger manifest. In London, the Foreign Office said a British national and a British dual national were on board. A spokesman said their identities would not be released until their next of kin were informed. Distressed family members of the Lebanese passengers on board gathered in a cordoned off area of Rafik Hariri airport to await news. One woman was sobbing and screaming "Why, why?" as other anguished relatives fainted and had to be carried out of the airport lounge by Red Cross volunteers. Another woman said she had lost all hope of finding her husband. "He's my life. They won't find him, I know it, they won't find him," she wailed as her mother hugged her. In Addis Ababa, Girma Wake, the CEO of Ethiopia's national airline, which operates one of Africa's largest commercial passenger fleets, said the aircraft had last been serviced on Christmas Day and had passed its inspection. In a continent with a reputation for lax aviation standards, Ethiopian Airlines is widely respected for its professionalism and attention to safety. Operating a fleet dominated by Boeing and with ambitious plans to expand into the Asian market, the company's aircraft are on average newer than most of its US and European competitors. Until Monday, the airline had not been involved in a major crash since November 1996, when a Nairobi-bound passenger jet was commandeered by hijackers in one of the most bizarre incidents in aviation history. Claiming to have a bomb on board, the intoxicated hijackers demanded to be flown to Australia, ignoring the pleas of the captain that the aircraft did not have sufficient fuel for so long a journey. Forced to fly out into the Indian Ocean, the captain secretly directed the aircraft to the Comoros islands and, once it had run out of fuel, attempted an emergency landing on the water close to a beach packed with tourists. All but 50 of the 175 people on board were killed when the aircraft struck an unseen coral reef. Many passengers died because they had inflated their life jackets before leaving the aircraft and became trapped in the flooded cabin. It subsequently emerged that the hijacker's "bomb" was in actual fact a covered bottle of whisky.

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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