The Boeing 737 Max-8 passenger airliner crashed with 149 passengers and 8 crew members on board in Ethiopia.

The plane belongs to Ethiopian Airlines was flying from Ethiopia to Kenya. The plane reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff while the cause has not determined yet.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Office confirmed the crash while said the plane was flying from capital Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya.

The statement further said the plane crashed 6 minutes after takeoff near Debre Zeit, 50 kilometers away from Addis Ababa, while 149 passengers and 8 crew were on board.

Conveying his condolences, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said none survived among 157 people on the board of the plane crash.

Meanwhile, China's aviation regulator ordered local airlines to halt Boeing 737 Max 8 flights after the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash using the same model.

It was the second crash involving a Boing 737 Max 8 in the past five months while Indonesian Lion Airlines' plane lost altitude soon after takeoff, killing 189 people on board in October 2018.

"Given that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737 Max 8 planes and happened during take-off phase, they have some degree of similarity," the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement. (ILKHA)