Ethiopian 737 crashes into sea off Beirut - 90 people feared dead

"Up until now we have ruled out foul play," Mr Sleiman told reporters.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed off the coast of Lebanon with 90 passengers and crew on board just after 02:30 local time.

There are no reports of any survivors but four bodies have already been recovered by rescue vessels in the area of the Mediterraneab close to the Lebanese coast where the aircraft was seen to go down, according to reports from the scene.

Flight ET409 reportedly took off in stormy weather but it is too early to say if this was a contributing factor.

Bound for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the aircraft lost contact with Lebanese air controllers shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport at 02:35hr, says the airline.

The all-Boeing airline operates a daily flight between Beirut and Addis Ababa with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.and was carrying 82 passengers and eight Ethiopian crew members, It has the most modern fleet of African airlines.

"A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information we will release further information as further updates are received," a spokesman for the airline said.