Brits’ death toll rises to nine as Boeing 737 black boxes found
THE Ethiopian Airlines flight which crashed killing 157 people – including nine Britons – was on fire in the air, locals said last night.
They spoke as it was revealed black boxes from the Boeing 737 had been found, with investigators now examining them to find out what caused the crash.
Witness Gebeyehu Fikadu, 25, said he saw flight ET302 “swerving and dipping with a lot of smoke coming from the back” before it “crashed with a large boom” and “luggage and clothes came burning down”.
More details also emerged about some of the British victims. Aid worker Sam Pegram, 25, from Penwortham, Lancashire, was an
intern with the Norwegian Refugee Council. His mum, Deborah, said: “We can’t believe this has happened. We’re totally devastated.”
Ben Kuria, son of Joseph Waithaka, 55, saw the ex-probation officer the day before the crash. Mr Waithaka, a dual BritishKenyan national, had been visiting his wife and children, who still live in Hull.
Mr Kuria, said: “He came to my flat on his way to Heathrow and we had a meal.
“He called me to say he had boarded his flight and I said, ‘See you later’. When I woke on Sunday I saw about the crash.”
A mother and son who died were named as Somali-British nationals Sarah Hassan Said and Nasrudin Abdulkadir.
Animal welfare worker Joanna Toole, 36, and polar expert Sarah Auffret – a BritishFrench national – also died.