An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane with 90 people on board has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut airport.

Eyewitnesses say they saw a ball of fire in the sky before Addis Ababa-bound Flight ET409 fell into the sea after taking off in stormy weather.

At least 21 bodies have been found, and the airline’s chief executive said there was no word of survivors.

Most of those on board were Lebanese or Ethiopian. There were also two Britons.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was carrying 82 passengers. It disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather at about 0200 local time, near the village of Naameh, about 3.5km (2 miles) from the coast.