Body of Iraqi passenger on Ethiopian plane identified

BEIRUT / IraqiNews.com: The body of the only Iraqi passenger who was aboard the Ethiopian plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off Beirut a few days ago has been identified, a medic said on Sunday. “The body of Akram Jassem Mohammed, the only Iraqi passenger on the plane, has been identified,” the source from the state-run Beirut Hospital told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The corpse will be sent to the Iraqi embassy to be handed over to his next of kin later,” the source added. On January 25, the Boeing 737-800, which was heading to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, disappeared from the radar five minutes after taking off from the Beirut-based Rafik Hariri International Airport in stormy weather. Among those on the flight were 54 Lebanese nationals, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese origin, two British nationals of Lebanese origin, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon, as well as a seven-member crew. SS (P) 45