sr Serbian
sq Albanianen Englishfr Frenchde Germanru Russiansr Serbiantr Turkish

Best Songs

    Best Adriatic Songs

    ‘Boeing was at my father’s funeral and I was not’

    Published: 14 November 2019
    No comments
    Categories: Test
    Zipporah Kuria

    Zipporah Kuria was fighting back tears.

    Eight months after the Boeing 737 Max crash that killed Ms Kuria’s father, Joseph Waithaka, the site of impact was covered on Thursday and unidentified remains of the victims were buried in rows of identical coffins. But Ms Kuria wasn’t there.

    Officials from Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines are believed to have attended a ceremony at the site, but because of the short notice Ms Kuria and other relatives of the dead were unable to attend.

    Family members of three separate victims told the BBC they were only notified of the ceremony days ago. As a result, only relatives of two of the 157 victims attended.

    “It is absurd. It makes me shudder that Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines are at my father’s funeral and I’m not,” Ms Kuria said.

    The crash happened in a rural area to the south-east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It left behind a deep crater which until this week still contained accident debris and some human remains.

    Families of those killed say they were left horrified after they visited the site last month and found that recent rains had uncovered bones and other items. Some, they said, were floating in flood water in the crater.

    Image copyright
    Zipporah Kuria

    Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 was lost minutes after take-off on what should have been a routine flight from Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi on 10 March.

    It came down in farmland, in a deeply rural area. In the immediate aftermath, those human remains that could be found were removed, along with the plane’s flight recorders and large items of wreckage.

    The crash is believed to have occurred after a flight control system known as MCAS deployed at the wrong time, forcing the nose of the aircraft down when the pilots were trying to gain height.

    A similar malfunction has been blamed for the loss of a near-identical 737 Max in Indonesia a year ago. The aircraft has been grounded for the past nine months, banned from flying by aviation authorities around the world.

    Image copyright
    Getty Images

    The violence of the impact of the Ethiopian Airlines flight meant that when my colleagues and I visited the site in May, there was still a great deal of smaller debris lying in the fields.

    The deep impact crater itself remained, alongside huge mounds of earth from the recovery operation, with a rough wooden fence the only barrier to access. Animals were able to roam freely across the site. There were no guards and no official presence.

    After that, the victims’ relatives say, the situation worsened as a result of seasonal rains. They have been demanding action.

    Nadia Millieron, whose daughter Samya Rose Stumo died in the crash, recently told the BBC: “There were bones being revealed all the time and local people are coming to the site and covering them. We want Ethiopian Airlines to move the piles of earth into the crater, take the unidentifiable remains into the crater and to cover everything”.

    Ethiopian Airlines, which is managing the site, told victims’ families it was aware of the issue, but claimed insurance issues had prevented it from taking action. But after coming under pressure from the relatives, and following an investigation by the BBC, it appears those difficulties have now been overcome.

    On Thursday, rows of coffins were placed neatly in the crater. These contained remains that had previously been removed for forensic analysis, but which could not be identified due to contamination. Then they were covered over and the crater itself was filled, the dark earth matching the surrounding fields.

    The site is now a permanent grave.

    Relatives of the victims believe Ethiopian Airlines had a duty to keep them informed about the burial and should have given them more notice. The BBC has approached the carrier for a comment.

    Boeing has refused to comment on reports that one of its senior executives, Jennifer Lowe, was among those present.

    The company said in a statement: “We continue to offer our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 and we are committed to helping those affected by these tragedies.”

    Last month, Ms Kuria travelled with her family to Ethiopia to collect and bring home some of her father’s remains. She said it was “heartbreaking” that she was unable to get to the site in time for the covering of the site.

    “My dad is being buried, well most of him, as we only received a small amount of him back,” she said.

    She said she would have jumped on a flight if it had been possible.

    “They’ve robbed us of our closure,” she said.

    0 comments

    Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    • Bogdanović: Neće biti zaštite za one koji su izdali uniformu, zakon i državu
      on 09/04/2026 at 21:24

      Današnja vijest da su policijski službenici Boro Bojanić i Miloš Đurišić osumnjičeni da su službene informacije prenosili operativno interesantnim licima još je jedna brutalna potvrda koliko je duboko mafija godinama bila pustila korijenje u bezbjednosnom sektoru, kazao je poslanik Demokratske Crne Gore Boris Bogdanović. Istakao je da je to posljedica sistema u kojem su pojedini umjesto državi služili kriminalnim strukturama.

    • Spajić za Politiko: Crna Gora želi da uđe u EU zbog bezbjednosti
      on 09/04/2026 at 21:11

      Predsjednik Vlade Crne Gore Milojko Spajić izjavio je da Crna Gora želi članstvo u Evropskoj uniji manje zbog tradicionalnih „fiskalnih“ razloga, a više zbog bezbjednosti.

    • Kalač o izjavi Radunovića: Neozbiljno i neodgovorno iznositi tvrdnje bez konkretnih i provjerljivih dokaza
      on 09/04/2026 at 19:11

      Predstavnik Evropskog saveza Rožaje Alen Kalač reagovao je na izjavu ministra prostornog planiranja, urbanizma i državne imovine Slavena Radunovića koji je kazao da imaju informacije da su prošle godine na skijalištu u izgradnji na Štedimu, kada je pucano sa kosovske strane, hici došli iz kuće bivšeg premijera Kosova Ramuša Haradinaja. Izjava je, kako je kazao, neodgovorna i neozbiljna.

    • "Ako je Ministarstvu poziv da se nosi zastava i kliče Crnoj Gori poziv na puč, onda je to ozbiljna dijagnoza"
      on 09/04/2026 at 15:36

      Ako u Ministarstvu odbrane poziv da se nosi državna zastava i kliče Crnoj Gori vide kao poziv na puč, onda je to njihova ozbiljna dijagnoza kazao je poslanik Evropskog saveza Nikola Zirojević.

    • Živković: Vlast će biti smijenjena i zbog nemarnog odnosa prema sjeveru Crne Gore
      on 09/04/2026 at 15:20

      Predsjednik Demokratske partije socijalista (DPS) Danijel Živković tokom radne posjete Petnjici poručio je da je ta opština slika građanske Crne Gore, te da aktuelna Vlada, između ostalog, ima maćehinski odnos prema sjeveru države. Zato će ih, kako je poručio građanima, zajedničkim snagama na prvim izborima poslati u opoziciju na državnom nivou, iz koje neće moći da rade na štetu Crne Gore.

    • Bošković: Priča o "10.500 eura za jedan dan" politički spin, riječ o prijemu za 500 zvanica
      on 09/04/2026 at 11:42

      Bivši ministar odbrane Predrag Bošković reagovao je na navode o navodnoj potrošnji od 10.500 eura za jedan dan, ocjenjujući da je riječ o „klasičnom primjeru političkog spina“ i pokušaju obmane javnosti.

    • Stanišić: Skupština uložila napore da odgovori na izazove koji utiču na zakonodavni proces
      on 09/04/2026 at 11:37

      Skupština Crne Gore je, jačanjem administrativnih kapaciteta i mehanizama, uložila značajne napore da odgovori na sve izazove koji utiču na zakonodavni proces, sa ciljem donošenja kvalitetnog i primjenjivog zakonodavstva, a u aktuelnom sazivu od jula 2023. godine usvojila je oko 200 zakona usklađenih sa pravnom tekovinom Evropske unije (EU), kazao je generalni sekretar Skupštine Crne Gore Boban Stanišić.

    • Konatar: Vlada ne smije čekati nastavak krize
      on 09/04/2026 at 11:22

      Pozivamo Vladu Crne Gore da ne čeka produbljivanje krize i da u najkraćem roku predloži paket antikriznih mjera, zato što nestabilnost na svjetskom tržištu energenata već pojačava inflaciju i utiče na rast cijena velikog broja roba i usluga i to zahtijeva proaktivan pristup države kako bi se zaštitio životni standard građana i osigurala stabilnost domaće privrede, kazao je poslanik GP URA Miloš Konatar.

    • Dukaj na UET forumu u Tirani: Od studenta do lidera u reformi javne uprave
      on 09/04/2026 at 10:41

      Ministar javne uprave, Maraš Dukaj, učestvovao je na UET Forumu „Evropske integracije Crne Gore i uloga Albanaca u ovom procesu“, u okviru zvanične posjete Evropskom univerzitetu u Tirani, koji je održan 8. i 9. aprila 2026.godine.

    • Božović: Proširićemo kapacitete Istražnog zatvora
      on 09/04/2026 at 10:38

      Ministar pravde Bojan Božović odgovarao je na poslanička pitanja u parlamentu, ističući da naša država napreduje u jačanju vladavine prava i da se planiraju važne pravosudne reforme.