Football Kenya Federation express sympathy for Ethiopian Airlines crash victims

FKF has expressed sympathy to the victims of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday[Courtesy]

Kenya’s football governing body –Football Kenya Federation (FKF) – has expressed sympathy to the victims of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, March 10, killing all 157 people on board.

Flight ET 302 departed Bole Airport at 8:38 am before losing all contact with the control tower minutes later, eventually crashing.

Through their social media handle, FKF sent condolences to the family, friends and victims of the crash including FKF Lower Eastern branch chairman Hussein Swaleh.

“Football Kenya Federation wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of FKF Lower Eastern branch chairman Hussein Swaleh and all victims of the #EthiopianAirlines Flight B-737-800Max that crashed today, shortly after take-off,” tweeted FKF.

Thirty two Kenyans were among the 157 killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash in Addis Ababa.

They include Tamarind CEO Jonathan Seex and KAA managers George Kabugi and Juliet Otieno.

The KAA chief executive recalled GMs Otieno (Human Resource) and Kabugi (Security) who were on an official trip in Egypt and booked new tickets for them. Unfortunately, they perished in the Ethiopian plane accident.

Tamarind Management chairman Gerson Misumi called on his team to “remain calm and carry on with our various duties and responsibilities”.

Kenya was the worst hit in the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 commercial plane crash.

The Catholic fraternity lost Fr George Mukua Kageche.

Nineteen UN staff were confirmed dead in the plane. Ethiopian Airlines set up a call center at the Sheraton for families.

GE Africa President Farid Fezoua in a statement said two of GE Healthcare employees, Cosmas (Rogony) Kipngetich and George Kabau were among those killed.

"I would like to express my sincere sympathy to the families and friends of our dear colleagues who lost their lives today as well as all the families of the other victims.

"This is a sad day for GE Africa to lose our employees in one of the biggest airline tragedies East Africa has ever faced." he said.

Mwazo Jared Babu was on the flight with his wife. The couple left behind a 15-month-old baby.

There were 33 different nationalities on board with two classified as ‘unknown’.

Journalist Tony Ngare was among the dead. His colleagues remembered him as an ardent advocate for Press Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Kenya.

After leaving the Standard Media Group, Ngare joined the Kenya National Commission to UNESCO and was instrumental in the successful establishment of the Kenya Media Sector Working Group.

He also supported many initiatives aimed at strengthening the Kenya community radio sector.

Though his position, NATCOM to UNESCO co-funded most of the joint programmes supported under the Kenya Media Sector Working Group.

"He was a great team player, reliable and his passing on is not only a big loss to his family but also to the entire media fraternity in Kenya," one said.

Canada suffered the second highest casualties after Kenya at 18.  

Others included:  USA (8), Egypt (6), China (8), Ethiopia (9), Netherlands (5), UK (7), Russia (3), France (7), Italy (8).

The cause of the crash has not been revealed but Swedish flight-tracking website flightradar24 said it “had unstable vertical speed”.

“Data from Flightradar24 ADS-B network show that vertical speed was unstable after take off,” the Swedish-based flight tracking organisation said on its Twitter feed.

The flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8.38 am local time, before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8.44 am.

CS James Macharia said a team led by Principal Secretary Esther Koimett has been sent to Ethiopia.