At least a dozen UN-affiliated personnel killed in Ethiopian crash: UN source

At least a dozen people affiliated with the United Nations were among those killed in the crash Sunday of an Ethiopian Airlines jet near Addis Ababa, a UN source said.

"It is expected that a least a dozen of the victims were affiliated with the UN," the source said, adding that freelance interpreters travelling to a UN conference on the environment might also be among the dead.

Authorities said 157 people were killed when the Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on a flight to Nairobi, where the UN conference was being held.