Havana, March 11 (RHC) – Cuba's Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, sent a message of condolences to the people of Ethiopia on behalf of the island's government, following a plane crash in the East African country which claimed 157 lives. 

In a tweet Rodriguez stated:"Condolences to the government and people of Ethiopia and to the relatives of the 157 people killed in the disaster, including citizens of other countries to whom we also express our sympathy." 

According to a report from Ethiopian Airlines , there were no survivors among the 149 passengers and eight crew members on board the Boeing 737 flight from Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The plane took off at 08:38 local time from the Bole International Airport and lost contact with the control tower six minutes later.

According to the Ethiopian Airlines’ report, passengers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Canada, China, the United States, Italy, India, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russia, Morocco and 23 other nations were on board. 

The cause of the accident is currently being investigated by airlines specialists and the nation's emergency services.