Ambassador's wife caught in Beirut plane crash

Breaking news An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 90 people on board, including the French ambassador's wife, has crashed into the sea shortly after take-off from Beirut.

The wife of France's ambassador to Lebanon was on board an Ethiopian airliner that crashed into the Mediterranean sea early this morning on take-off, a Lebanese government official and the embassy told AFP. "Among the names on the passenger list was that of Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon," a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. An embassy spokeswoman confirmed that the ambassador's spouse was on board. Ambassador Denis Pietton took up his post in Lebanon in September. *Agencies