Kenyan Pilot Yared Mulugeta Who Perished in Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302

The pilot of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 that crashed on Sunday morning was a Kenyan identified as Captain Yared Mulugeta.

According to the Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde Gebre-Mariam, Mulugeta was an Ethiopian-born Kenyan national.

Speaking during a press briefing in Addis Ababa, Gebre-Mariam indicated that the captain was a senior pilot and was equally experienced in flying the same plane since November 2018 after joining the airline in 2010.

After visiting the crash site, the CEO equally noted that the planes first officer, Ahmednur Mohamednur, had several flight hours under his belt.

The aircraft, with 157 people on board, including eight crew members, was flying from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Among the 32 Kenyans who perished in the fatal accident was former Kenya Football Federation (KFF) Secretary General Hussein Swaleh.

According to Daily Nation, Swaleh was returning from CAF Champions League match pitting Ismailia (Egyptian) and TP Mazembe (DRC) played on Friday in Cairo.

Swaleh was the match commissioner during the football face-off in Egypt.

As the authorities continued to confirm the details of the passenger manifest for the flight, it also emerged that Tamarind Group boss Jonathan Seex was among those killed in the plane crash at at Bishoftu in Ethiopia.

Until his demise, Seex was in-charge of the Tamarind Group which operates a string of high-end hotels in Kenya through their Facebook page.

"It is with immense shock and grief to inform you of the tragic news that Tamarind CEO Jonathan Seex was on the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, the Tamarind community and all the others who have suffered unfathomable losses," Tamarind Tree Hotel, Nairobi announced.

Officials reports indicate that there were 33 nationalities on the flight, with Kenya being the most hit by the plane crash with 32 fatalities.

Authorities indicated that among those killed in the crash were Ethiopians (9) , Canadians (18), Chinese (8), Americans (8), Italians (8), Indians (4), French (7), British (7), Dutch (5), Russian (3), Moroccan (2), Israeli (2), Belgian (1), Ugandan (1), Yemeni (1), Sudanese (1), Togolese (1), Mozambican (1), Norwegian (1) and Egyptians (6) while four passengers held UN passports.

The Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after takeoff, with the flight losing contact six minutes after leaving the runway.

Here is a video from the Ethiopian Authorities:

 

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