An Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi has crashed, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members on board.

Flight ET 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes after take-off.

Key points: The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes after take-off into its flight to Nairobi

The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes after take-off into its flight to Nairobi The pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return

The pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return The plane model was the same as the Lion Air flight that crashed off the coast of Indonesia last year, killing 189

Citizens from 35 countries were on board the flight, which was likely carrying people to attend a major United Nations environmental conference in Nairobi.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had no information that Australians were on board the flight.

It said the Australian Embassy in Addis Ababa would continue to make urgent inquiries of local authorities in Ethiopia.

The Red Cross has joined teams scouring a vast area for human remains and pieces of the plane, which disintegrated on impact.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash, but the pilot had sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return to the Ethiopian capital.

Swedish flight-tracking website flightradar24 said on Twitter: "Data from Flightradar24 ADS-B network show that vertical speed was unstable after take off."

A statement from the airline said the Boeing 737, registration number ET-AVJ, crashed around Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, 50 kilometres south of the capital, shortly after taking off at 8:38am.

Rescuers remove body bags from the scene of the crash. ( AP )

"It is confirmed it happened 8:44am," an unnamed airline spokesman told Reuters.

In a statement posted to Twitter, the Ethiopian Airlines Group chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam said he "deeply regrets the fatal accident" and "regrets to confirm there are no survivors".

"He expresses his profound sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of passengers and crew who lost their lives in this tragic accident," the airline said.

His message was accompanied by a picture from the scene, showing scattered debris from the plane.

People walk past a part of the wreckage at the scene of the crash. ( Reuters: Tiksa Negeri )

Passengers came from 35 countries

According to a list released by the airline, the deceased passengers included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese citizens and eight Americans.

Seven British citizens, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five German citizens, four Indians, four people from Slovakia, three Austrians, three Swedes, three Russians, two Moroccans, two Spaniards, two Poles and two Israelis were also among the dead.

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Belgium, Djibouti, Indonesia, Ireland, Nepal, Somalia, Norway, Serbia, Togo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Yemen each had one citizen onboard.

One person on the list, which accounts for 150 of the 157 people onboard, was identified as carrying a United Nations passport.

Travellers waited in Kenya for information on passengers aboard the flight. ( Reuters: Baz Ratner )

Italian officials said three members of a local humanitarian organisation, Africa Tremila, were aboard the jet: Carlo Spini, his wife and the treasurer, Matteo Ravasio.

They were en route to South Sudan.

Families waited at Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for news of potential survivors. ( Reuters: Baz Ratner )

The Sicilian regional assessor to the Culture Ministry, Sebastiano Tusa, was also killed in the crash, according to the Sicilian regional president.

In a tweet, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said it was a day of pain for everyone.

"We are united with the relatives of the victims and offer them our heartfelt thoughts," he said.

Austrian media reported that three local doctors were among the passengers on board the fatal flight.

Anton Hrnko, a politician with the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, announced "in deep grief" that his wife Blanka, son Martin and daughter Michala were killed in the crash.

A prominent Kenyan soccer official, Hussein Swaleh, the former secretary general of the Kenyan soccer federation, was also believed to be on the flight.

Kenyan soccer federation president Nick Mwendwa said Mr Swaleh was one of the 32 Kenyan nationals on the flight and wrote on Twitter: "Sad day for football."

Families desperate for news

At Nairobi airport, many passengers were waiting at the gate, with no information from airport authorities.

"We're just waiting for my mum. We're just hoping she took a different flight or was delayed. She's not picking up her phone," said Wendy Otieno, clutching her phone and weeping.

Relatives waited for news at Bole International in Ethiopia's capital. ( AP: Elias Masseret )

Robert Mudanta, 46, was waiting for his brother-in-law coming from Canada.

"No, we haven't seen anyone from the airline or the airport," he said at 1:00pm (local time), more than three hours after the flight was lost.

"Nobody has told us anything, we are just standing here hoping for the best."

Ahmed Khalid was due to board the fatal flight, but missed the plane because of a delayed connection out of Dubai.

"Everyone was asking the cabin crew what was happening but no-one was saying anything," he said.

"They were just going up and down until one of the passengers saw on his mobile that the first plane which had just flew. Like six minutes after it flew, it just crashed."

Map An approximate map of the crash site in relation to Addis Ababa International Airport.

Same model involved in fatal Lion Air crash

The Planespotters civil aviation database shows that the aircraft was a new one, delivered to the airline in mid-November 2018.

It was the same 737-800 MAX model as the Lion Air flight which crashed into the Java Sea in October.

Mr Gebremariam said the plane "had no known technical problems" and that the pilot had an "excellent flying record".

The pilot reported difficulties and requested permission to turn back, he said.

The plane model was the same as the Lion Air flight that crashed off the coast of Indonesia last year, killing all 189 people onboard. ( Reuters: Tiksa Negeri )

The plane is the latest version of the 737 family, and has been touted as the world's best-selling modern passenger aircraft and one of the industry's most reliable.

Ethiopian Airlines' last major crash was in January 2010, when a flight from Beirut went down shortly after take-off.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has expressed his condolences to the families of those onboard.

An Ethiopian Airports Enterprise fire engine reported to the scene of the crash near Bishoftu. ( Reuters: Tiksa Negeri )

The crash came as Mr Ahmed vowed to open up the airline and other sectors to foreign investment in a major transformation of the state-centred economy.

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.

It said previously that it expected to carry 10.6 million passengers last year.

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Ethiopian Airlines has been expanding assertively, recently opening a route to Moscow and in January inaugurating a new passenger terminal in Addis Ababa to triple capacity.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Prime Minister challenged the airline to build a new "Airport City" terminal in Bishoftu — where Sunday's crash occurred.

The plane was en route to Nairobi when it lost contact with controllers six minutes into its flight. ( Ethiopian Airlines, file photo )

AP/Reuters