Lebanon grieves for the dead from plane crash

The grim task of searching the turbulent seas off the coast of Lebanon goes on following the crash of the Ethopian airline. As the hours have ticked around 20 bodies have so far been recovered.

Relatives watch on. With their pain there is anger that the jet was allowed to take off during a thunder storm.

The airline’s chief executive has confirmed there is no word of any survivors. 83 passengers and seven crew were on board the Boeing 737-800. Among them was the wife of the French ambassador to the Lebanon. The Lebanaes President has said an act of sabotage is unlikely.

One eye witness described the inferno as the plane burst into flames.

“At about 2.30 there was big ball of fire it was as big as a tent. I watched it fall into the sea between these two buildings, it landed in the sea perhaps about one kilometre from here,” he said.

Throughout the morning people have been gathering at the hospital clinging to hope and desperate for any news.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri mixed with the grieving familes. His government has declared a day of mourning as experts piece together the final minutes of the jet. Ethopian airlines have a good safety record. This crash has left a nation in shock.