Q: On March 10 local time, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed, killing all 157 people on board, including eight Chinese. Do you have more information?

A: According to information released by the Ethiopian Airlines, on the morning of March 10 local time, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia en route to Nairobi, capital of Kenya, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members aboard.

After learning the incident, the Foreign Ministry immediately instructed the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia to activate emergency mechanism and contact the Ethiopian government and Ethiopian Airlines to gather more information. It has been verified that there were eight Chinese citizens on board, including one from the Hong Kong SAR. We express our deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families.

The Chinese side hopes that the Ethiopian side will locate the cause of the crash as soon as possible, keep us informed without any delay, and properly deal with the follow-up matters. The Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia will continue to closely follow the development of the situation and do our best to assist the families of the Chinese victims.