Plane carrying 157 people crashes in Ethiopia

"The incident happened at 8:44,"Reutersquoted an airline spokesman as saying.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office tweeted condolences to the families of the victims but did not provide further details. The plane involved was a Boeing 737 800 MAX, the same model as the Lion Air plane that crashed last October, killing 189 people.

Local media said the plane crashed just six minutes after takeoff, nearly 50km from the capital Addis Ababa. Several flights leaving Addis Ababa were cancelled this morning.

"Ethiopian Airlines regrets to inform you that flight ET 302/10 March from Addis Ababa to Nairobi has been involved in an accident near Bishoftu (Debre Zeit)," the airline said in a statement. "The aircraft took off at 08:38 from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa and lost contact at 08:44."

"Currently, search and rescue operations are underway and we cannot confirm information about survivors or casualties," the statement said. "Ethiopian Airlines staff will be dispatched to the scene of the accident and will do everything in their power to support the rescue efforts."