DFA checking if Pinoys among fatalities in Ethiopian plane crash

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has ordered concerned embassies to check with authorities in Addis Ababa and Nairobi to determine if there are Filipinos among the passengers and crew of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday.

The Philippines has expressed its sympathies to Ethiopia following the tragic incident, involving Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, which claimed the lives of all those inside the aircraft — 149 passengers and eight crew members.

The plane, en route to Kenya, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 kilometers southeast of the capital Addis Ababa. It left Bole airport at 8:38 a.m. local time before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8:44 a.m. (1:44 p.m., PHL time).

Those who were killed in the incident include 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese citizens, eight Americans, seven British citizens, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Dutch citizens, four Indians, four people from Slovakia, three Austrians, three Swedes, three Russians, two Moroccans, two Spaniards, two Poles and two Israelis.

Belgium, Indonesia, Somalia, Norway, Serbia, Togo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen each had one citizen onboard. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News