Survivors found in Lebanon plane crash, army says survivors; statement from Ethiopian Airlines; French diplomat's wife among passengers (5th Lead)

Jan 25, 2010, 7:00 GMT

Beirut - Lebanese army sources confirmed that two bodies had been found from an Ethiopian airliner that crashed into the sea off Lebanon with 90 passengers aboard early Monday.

Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the Ethiopian Airlines plane, carrying 83 passengers with seven crew members, fell into the sea four minutes after taking off from Beirut's international airport.

The aircraft carried 54 Lebanese nationals, 22 Ethiopians, as well as Iraqi, Syrian, British,]and French nationals, the minister said.

Local media quoted Lebanese army officials as saying that seven survivors had been rescued. According to other reports, police officers said there had been two survivors. The conflicting reports of survivors did not specify the nationalities involved.

'Ethiopian flight ET-409 scheduled to operate from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25 lost contact with the Lebanese air controllers shortly after takeoff. The flight departed at 02:35 Lebanese time from Beirut International Airport,' the airline said in a statement.

'Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus eight Ethiopian crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, one Turkish, one French, two British, one Russian, one Canadian, one Syrian and one Iraqi national.'

A source at the French embassy in Beirut who requested anonymity said the ambassador's wife was on board the plane.

'On the passengers' list we saw the name of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon,' a Lebanese security source said earlier.

An airport official said the Ethiopian Airlines plane was struck by lightning before into fell into the sea.

The Boeing aircraft disappeared off the radar screens shortly after takeoff, the state-run Lebanese National News Agency reported.

Witnesses in the area said they heard a loud noise and then saw a plane on fire plunging into the water.

Rescue teams were seen gathering near the area where the plane reportedly crashed.

'The weather is not helping us at all,' a member of the rescue team said. 'But we hope to find some survivors.'

Aridi said the crash site had been identified at 3.5 kilometres west of the coastal village of Na'ameh.