In the picture, H.E. Sheik Mohammed Belal, Ambassador of Bangladesh signing the book of condolences at the Embassy of Ethiopia in The Hague.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
Ethiopian Airline flight ET302 bound from Nairobi, Kenya crashed at Bishoftu near Addis Ababa only minutes after taking off on Sunday 10 March 2019.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft was carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members when it crashed only 6 minutes after departing Addis Ababa on Sunday morning. All 157 passengers on board were killed. Reports have indicated that the passengers were from among 35 nationalities including 3 Russians, 18 Canadians, 7 Britons, 32 Kenyans as well as passengers from Ethiopia, Italy, China, the United States and France among others. This event is indeed an international tragedy.
The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft tragedy has sparked a global aviation response where many airline companies have made the decision to discontinue the use of this aircraft model. Airlines based in China, Ethiopia, Indonesia as well as the Caribbean and Latin America have also grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in their respective fleets pending the outcome of the investigation of flight ET302.
Countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, have made the decision to close their skies to all incoming services using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
Book of Condolence. In view of this unfortunate tragedy, a condolence book has been opened at the Ethiopian Embassy in The Hague. Members of the Diplomatic Corps in the Hague and Diplomat magazine, made their way to the Ethiopian Embassy in Oranjestraat to sign the book of condolence.
This heartfelt gesture of sympathy by the diplomatic community did not only serve as a means of paying their respects to the government and people of Ethiopia but also to the other bereaved governments and their people.
