Ethiopian Airlines grounds Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet after crash

Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday, March 11, it had grounded its Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet after a crash that killed 157 passengers, including four Indians, and eight crew.

"Following the tragic accident of ET 302... Ethiopian Airlines has decided to ground all B-737-8 MAX fleet effective yesterday, March 10, until further notice," the state-owned carrier said in a statement released on Twitter.

 READ: With 18 Canadians Dead, Justin Trudeau Calls Ethiopia Crash 'devastating'

(All pictures from the Associated Press) 

"Although we don't yet know the cause of the accident, we have to decide to ground the particular fleet as an extra safety precaution," said the airline, Africa's largest.

READ: Four Indians Among 157 Killed In Ethiopian Airlines Flight Crash; PM Modi, MEA Sushma Swaraj Expresses Condolences

All 157 people on board died when Nairobi-bound Flight ET 302 came down just six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa. It ploughed into a field near Tulu Fara village outside the town of Bishoftu, some 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of the Ethiopian capital.

China also grounded its fleet of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the aftermath. Among the dead were tourists, business travellers, and UN staff headed for a conference.