An Ethiopian Airlines flight with 157 people on board to Nairobi crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday, 10th March.

The plane which had 149 passengers and eight crew members on board the Boeing 737 crashed six minutes after takeoff  on Sunday morning.

It took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, headed to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

The crash occurred around Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the capital, shortly after taking off at 8:38am local time, said the airline’s statement.

While the airline said that “search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible casualties,” a separate statement by the Ethiopian prime minister’s office offered its “deepest condolences” to families.

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There were no immediate details on what caused the crash.

The Ethiopian Airlines is said to be Africa’s largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.

This crash comes as the country’s reformist prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has vowed to open up the airline and other sectors to foreign investment in a major transformation of the state-centered economy.

Update – 11am
“No Survivors”

Everyone on board Ethiopian Airlines jet died in crash, spokesman says – victims were from 33 nationalities