Two brothers from Redding were among the passengers killed when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 with 157 people on board crashed Sunday morning shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Melvin and Bennett Riffel were on vacation and had been in Australia and Mogadishu before continuing on to other parts of Africa, Redding Chamber of Commerce President Jake Mangas said.

Mangas and his wife, Janet, are close friends with the brothers' parents, Ike and Susan Riffel of Redding.

"Our family is devastated for Ike and Susan and certainly for Melvin's wife, Brittney," Mangas said. "They are wonderful, faith-filled people and if there is any encouragement to me, it's in this difficult circumstance, I know they are surrounded by a community that loves them very much."

Melvin and Brittney were expecting their first child, a girl, this spring, longtime friend Karen Lawrence said.

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Brittney Riffel also was vacationing with them, but she had returned to Redding as Melvin and Bennett continued on, Mangas said.

"We understand it was the brothers' last adventure together before Melvin became a father," Mangas said.

Melvin Riffel worked at the California Department of Transportation's District 2 office in Redding, spokesman Chris Woodward said.

Investigators still don’t know what caused the crash, which happened six minutes after takeoff. The plane was headed for Nairobi.

Authorities in Ethiopia, China and Indonesia have grounded their fleets of 737 Max 8 aircraft in the wake of the accident.

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Investigators also have found the flight recorders from the doomed flight.

People from 35 countries, including eight Americans, were on board. Canada, Ethiopia, China, Italy, France, Britain, Egypt, Germany, India and Slovakia also lost four or more citizens.

Both Melvin and Bennett graduated from Shasta High School. Melvin graduated in 2007, and Bennett graduated around 2010.

Melvin and Bennett grew up down the street in west Redding from Lawrence, whose son Dylan was one of Melvin's best friends.

“He was like a son to me,” Lawrence said. “When Dylan went away for five years, Mel would come and check on me. I was at their wedding and I was included as another mom.”

Lawrence said Bennett officiated Melvin and Brittney’s wedding in 2017.

“He married them, and it was an adorable service. Their wedding was one of a kind,” Lawrence said.

Dylan and Melvin were daredevils, who Lawrence said shared a passion for snowboarding, motocross and other high-octane activities.

“They were both into mountain biking, snowboarding, into wakeboarding — the extreme sports were the common thread,” she said. “They did all that wild and crazy stuff together; they encouraged each other, if you know what I mean.”

Mangas said Susan Riffel is the secretary at St. Joseph Church. Ike Riffel works at W.M. Beaty & Associates, a land management company in Redding.

Flowers were placed at the bell tower outside St. Joseph Church on Monday in honor of the brothers.

Mangas said a tragic death in his family more than 10 years ago brought him and Janet closer to Ike and Susan Riffel.

"I would say our relationship got even closer with them through the loss of our son back in 2007, and they have been very close with us," Mangas said.

The Mangases' son, Michael, died in his sleep at the age of 19 months.

Karen Lawrence said Melvin and Bennett were the Riffels’ only children, which she says obviously makes what happened even more devastating.

“But they will have their little granddaughter. I have a hunch she is going to look just like Mel,” Lawrence said. “She will be a constant reminder of what a great guy he was. He was a sweet man.”

Jordan Webb knew Melvin Riffel for about 15 years and said his friend couldn’t wait to be a father.

“Mel Riffel was my best friend and the best human being that I ever had the privilege to know. He was the most loving, most joyful, most positive person I have ever met,” Webb said in an email. “My life became indescribably better when we became friends 15 years ago.

“I find comfort in knowing that he spent these last years of with his one true love in life, his soulmate, Brittney. The way he spoke of her and the impact that she had on Mel’s quality of life was evident to everyone that knew him.”

Webb said Bennett shared the same upbeat outlook on life with this brother.

“The two of them were polar opposites on a personality scale,” he said. “However, especially in recent years, they became as close as any two brothers possibly could. And they loved each other fiercely. I’m relieved to know that they had each other to lean on in their last minutes.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

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