Wife of French diplomat on board crashed Ethiopian plane

The wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon was believed to be among the passengers of the Ehiopian airliner which crashed early Monday shortly after taking of from Beirut airport, a Lebanese security source said, DPA reported.

"On the passengers' list we saw the name of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon," the source said.

Ambassador Denis Pietton, who took up his post in September 2009, or embassy officials could not be reached for confirmation.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane was carrying 83 passengers and seven crew members when crashed into the sea 4 minutes after taking off from Beirut's international airport in bad weather conditions.

The aircraft was carrying 54 Lebanese nationals, 22 Ethiopians, as well as Iraqi, Syrian, British and French nationals, Lebanon's transport minister said.