Hull family’s ‘painful’ visit to the ‘humble’ place where dad died in plane crash
JOSEPH WAITHAKA WAS AMONG THE 157 PEOPLE WHO DIED ON ETHIOPIAN FLIGHT
A HULL woman and her son have made an emotional journey to the site of the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Jane Waithaka’s husband Joseph was among the 157 passengers and crew who died when Flight ET302, which was en-route to Nairobi, came down six minutes after it took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city on March 10.
Mr Waithaka, 55, moved to Hull around 15 years ago and worked at the probation service before moving back to his native Kenya in 2015.
But his wife and children still live in Hull and he was on his way back to Kenya from a visit to the city when tragedy struck.
Mrs Wiathaka and their son Ben Kuria travelled to Ethiopia last week to visit the crash site.
“We were hoping to see the place Dad died and come one step closer to coming to terms with what’s happened,” Mr Kuria said. “We did not just want rely on reports, but wanted to see for ourselves.
“It was heaving with activity because it was 12 days since the crash, a significant milestone in the culture of Ethiopians who live there.
“It was a painful day when we visited the crash site. It was so wrenching to see my mum so broken and the wailing around us was saddening.
“A broken shoe here, a torn phone case here and a mangled Joseph Waithaka piece of plane there. The trip to Bishoftu did not bring any comfort. I am still numb and I am yet to react to this tragedy.”
The family are not expecting any sense of closure in the near future with the investigation into the cause of the crash set to last months.
“We are nowhere closer to finding out what happens as the investigation goes on and will continue for at least six months as we’ve been advised,” Mr Kuria said.
“People massed around us. Many were kissing their teeth, a sound many people on the continent make when they sympathise with someone who’s had a misfortune.
“Everyone has been so supportive out here. We were escorted by staff from the UK mission here and Ethiopian Airlines transported us to the site attending to our needs and giving us reassuring pats on our back.
“I was heartbroken for a Sudanese man and his sixyear-old daughter who lost his wife. I was glad we were on the same bus comforting one another.”
But there was some comfort for Mr Waithaka’s family as they viewed the surroundings of the site crash.
“What touched me is that dad loved the countryside having grown up in the Kenyan highlands,” Mr Kuria said. “He valued simplicity and tranquility.
“The place where the plane came down is rural and I couldn’t help thinking that he passed away in a humble, quiet place where most of us would consider remote.
“We were overwhelmed at the sight of the sky and ground where Dad had his last moments. But we’re really comforted by the support we’ve got from near and far afield.”
Mr Waithaka leaves behind wife Jane, his sons Ben and Joshua and daughter Zipporah.
There were nationals from at least 35 different countries on the plane, including seven from the UK. An Irish passenger was also aboard the aircraft, officials said.
The plane crashed six minutes after take-off, killing all 157 people on board.
Several airlines have grounded the Boeing model following the disaster. It was a Boeing 737 800 Max - the same model as the Lion Air plane that crashed in Indonesia last October, killing 189.