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NewsAlert: UNHCR says employee died in Ethiopia crash

Mar 11, 2019 | 6:58 AM

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says one of its Canadian-born employees was among the victims of the deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane.

The UNHCR has identified the woman as Jessica Hyba, who was working as the organization’s senior external relations officer.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday morning, killing all 157 aboard including 18 Canadians.

A mother and daughter from Edmonton, a renowned Carleton University professor, a forestry worker from New Brunswick and an accountant with the City of Calgary were also among the Canadians who died in the crash.

It was not clear what caused the Ethiopian Airlines plane to go down in clear weather six minutes after departing Bole Airport in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on its way to Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya. The accident was strikingly similar to last year’s crash of a Lion Air jet that plunged into the Java Sea, killing 189 people.

Both crashes involved the Boeing 737 Max 8, and both happened minutes after the jets became airborne. In the wake of Sunday’s crash, Ethiopian Airlines as well as all Chinese airlines have ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes indefinitely.

More coming

The Canadian Press

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