A statement from the airline on Sunday morning said the Boeing 737 crashed around Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 50km south of the capital, shortly after taking off at 08:38 local time.

The airline statement said "search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible casualties".

Earlier, the Ethiopian prime minister's office said an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on its way to Nairobi, with deaths reported.

The office issued a statement on Sunday morning saying the Boeing 737 was on a regularly scheduled flight when it crashed. The statement gave no details.

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.

Associated Press