An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet travelling from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed early on Sunday with 149 passengers and eight crew members on board. There were no survivors according to the airline.

The plane took off at 8:38am (05:38 GMT) from Bole International Airport and “lost contact” six minutes later.

Flight ET 302 crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 kilometres southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, the airline said, adding that the plane was a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Crash debris appeared to be spread across a large flat plain. There was a large crater, and metal fragments of the plane strewn around.

At Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport some relatives and friends of passengers waited for hours with no information from airport authorities.

People from more than 30 nationalities were on board flight ET 302. They included 32 Kenyans and nine Ethiopians.

Authorities said other victims include 18 Canadians; eight each from China, the United States and Italy; seven each from France and Britain; six from Egypt; and four each from India and Slovakia.