ADDIS ABABA - An Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday was carrying passengers from more than 30 countries, the airline's chief executive officer Tewolde GebreMariam told journalists.
He said they included 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.
Four of those onboard were listed as using United Nations passports and their nationalities were not immediately clear.
The pilot had alerted controllers “he had difficulties” and wanted to turn back the plane carrying 157 people, the head of the airline said.
The pilot “was given clearance” to return to Addis, GebreMariam told journalists in the Ethiopian capital when asked whether there had been a distress call.
