Ethiopian Airlines: 'No survivors' on crashed Boeing 737

An Ethiopian Airlines jet has crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all on board, the airline says.

It said 149 passengers and eight crew members were believed to be on flight ET302 from the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi in Kenya.

The airline added that there were 33 different nationalities on board.

The crash happened at 08.44 local time, six minutes after the months-old Boeing 737 Max-8 took off.

It is not yet clear what caused the accident.

An eyewitness at the scene told the BBC there was an intense fire as the aircraft hit the ground.

"The blast and the fire were so strong that we couldn't get near it," he said. "Everything is burnt down. There are four helicopters at the scene now."

First word of the crash came when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his "deepest condolences" on Twitter.