Dozens of Kenyans traveled to Addis Abba hoping to return with the remains of their loved ones, but Ethiopian authorities had a bombshell announcement for them.
There might not be any remains to bury. And they might not even be allowed to scoop soil from the crash site as a ritual of closure.
The grieving families were last evening coming to terms with the reality that there was nothing to take back home, hoping against hope that a miracle would happen.
Their Ethiopian hosts looked on as the tears turned into anger that quickly morphed into anxiety. Every now and then the potent mix of fury and desperation would erupt into a confrontation within the hotel, which would swiftly be quelled by guards.
A Kenyan man whose wife was one of the 157 who perished in the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 accident said he was tired of being hosted in a hotel. He wanted answers, not hospitality, he said. “If there are no remains, they should allow us to carry soil samples from the crash site for funeral rights,” he added.
The Nation is not naming the widower on his request because, he said, Ethiopian officials have warned relatives of victims against talking to the media.
On arrival at Bole Airport, families were directed to a holding area before being led to the holding hotel, just five minutes away, where they were counselled and allocated rooms.
The airline said a panel made up of Ethiopian Airlines, the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, and the Ethiopian Transport Authority had been set up to carry out the investigations, and that “once the identities of the deceased are identified, their bodies will be delivered to their families and loved ones”.