Beirut crash pilot 'did a very fast and strange turn' before hitting sea

Minister Ghazi Aridi added that the pilot flew in the opposite

direction to that recommended by the Beirut control tower after taking off for Addis Ababa at 2.30am local time on Monday during lightning and thunderstorms.

The tower "asked him to correct his path but he did a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the radar", Mr Aridi said.

It was not clear why that happened or whether it was beyond the pilot's control.

Like most other planes, the Boeing 737 is equipped with its own onboard weather radar which the pilot may have used to avoid flying into thunderheads.

There are believed to be no survivors. Emergency workers have pulled bodies from the Mediterranean Sea and the numbers reported so far range from a dozen to more than 20.

Searchers were trying to find the plane's black box and flight data recorder to help determine the cause of the crash.

Ethiopian Airlines said the pilot had more than 20 years of experience.

The Lebanese army have reported seeing the plane on fire shortly after take-off, with a defence official saying some witnesses had reported the plane breaking into three.