国际英语新闻：Ethiopian plane crashes off Lebanon

Local LBCI TV channel reported that a U.S. fleet located outside Lebanese territorial waters is also taking part in the search and rescue operation.

Aridi said that among the passengers, 57 were Lebanese nationals, three with dual nationalities: British, Canadian and Russian, and others include one Iraqi, one Syrian, and two French nationals were also on board, and the rest were Ethiopians.

However, the Ethiopian Airlines statement said the passengers include 51 Lebanese nationals and 24 Ethiopians, and others from Turkey and other countries.

The French embassy in Beirut announced in a statement that the wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton was among the passengers.

A rescuer carries the debris of the Boeing 737-800 passenger plane of Ethiopian Airlines that crashed off the Lebanese coast, south of the capital Beirut, on Jan. 25, 2010.

Naharnet said the French ambassador wife's body has been recovered and taken to military hospital.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said that authorities have ruled out sabotage as the cause for the crash.

"Sabotage is ruled out as of now," Suleiman said during a press conference held with Defense Minister Elias Murr and Army Commander General Jean Qajwaji.

"The incident is painful, the Lebanese on all levels, including security forces, are making every effort to find survivors," added Suleiman. He later visited the Beirut Hospital where the bodies were moved.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri declared Monday a national day of mourning for the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash.

Hariri said at the airport that all efforts currently are focusing on finding survivors and that divers will look for the black box to determine the cause, according to the Naharnet report.

Hariri will chair an emergency cabinet session at 7:00 p.m. (17: 00 GMT).

A navy vessel and a helicopter take part in search operations for the Boeing 737-800 passenger plane of Ethiopian Airlines that crashed off the Lebanese coast, south of the capital Beirut, on Jan. 25, 2010.

Defense Minister Elias Murr confirmed at the press conference that there is no evidence of a sabotage act and the bad weather is the reason of the incident in principle.

"Bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash... We have ruled out foul play so far," Murr said.

He said the relatively shallow depth of the waters where the plane had crashed allows finding the black box within the next few hours.

A source in the rescue team told local OTV TV channel that the plane likely sank at a depth of more than 500 meters.

Jordanian King Abdullah II, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have sent condolences to President Suleiman over the crash, Naharnet and Now Lebanon reported.

As Ethiopia's flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines now serves 56 international destinations. It operates 37 aircraft including five Boeing 737s.