By Addis Getachew and Hassan Isilow
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - A cellphone with video footage from inside the passenger cabin during Sunday’s fatal plane crash in Ethiopia has been recovered from the wreckage, Anadolu Agency has learned.
A credible source close to the investigation of the crash, which killed all 157 people on board, described the footage of the plane’s last moments as heart-rending.
It is not clear if the video might help determine the cause of the crash, one day after Ethiopian Airlines said the plane’s black box has been recovered.
Separately, South Africa is sending a team of investigators to help search for evidence of the cause of the accident, which has yet to be determined.
South African Transport Minister Blade Nzimande said experts from the Civil Aviation Authority, Air Traffic and Navigation Services, and the South African Search and Rescue Team have been dispatched.
Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO earlier told a news conference that the plane involved in the crash last flew to Johannesburg, South Africa and back.
In the wake of the crash, Ethiopia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and South Africa have so far grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8, the model of the plane that crashed.
On Sunday, a Kenya-bound Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed just six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
All 157 people on board – 149 passengers and eight crew members – representing 35 countries were killed in the crash.