<p>An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in Lebanon.Lebanese aviation sources said the plane was heading for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and had 85 passengers on board. Reuters news agency quotes airport sources as saying that about 50 of the passengers were Lebanese nationals. The majority of the remaining passengers were Ethiopian, they add. Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon. The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, reportedly disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather. The plane is said to have left Beirut shortly after its scheduled departure time of 0310 local time. Residents who live near the coast are reported to have witnessed a plane on fire crashing into the sea.</p><p>An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in Lebanon.</p><p>Lebanese aviation sources said the plane was heading for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and had 85 passengers on board.</p><p>The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, reportedly disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather.</p><p>Residents who live near the coast are reported to have witnessed a plane on fire crashing into the sea.</p>
