On the site of the crash of Ethiopian plane, a pilgrimage of sorrow

HEJERE, Ethiopia – In Ethiopia, an ancient land of pilgrimage, people are embarking on a new and grim journey of sorrow.

One by one, the friends and families of the 157 people killed aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 flew to the crash site on Wednesday with silent offerings to the dead.

Still. Sincere notes. bouquets

They were placed under a green and shiny floral vault, contrasting strikingly with the arid land. White roses were picked in a bucket and placed in a thin frame that flickered in the wind.

Some of the parents had grief.

One man was supported by others while he was screaming. They were looking for a foot in the freshly daubed and blackened landscape.

Others silenced: security forces in blue camouflage, researchers in masks, diplomats in waxed shoes.

"We need to help families understand what has happened," said UK ambbadador Alastair McPhail, who represented nine of his compatriots among the victims.

The dead came from 35 countries. Throughout the world, relatives numb with grief have embarked on a bewildering journey on the site, outside the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Farmers, some with their livestock, have seen the plane go down. When they hurried to smoke, they found few things there.

A pilot, Solomon Gizaw, was among the first to see the crash site from above. He said that it seemed that the plane had slipped into the ground.

President of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, said the same thing, noting that the plane was "totally submerged by the ground".

The yellow band rings the scene. Spectators watch at the edge, while loved ones have the ripping right to penetrate inside. Some wear loads of flowers.

"We want to go there often and make offerings," said Dawit Gebremichael, who lost his sister.

Some visited the site with little fanfare. While the world was aware of the accident on Sunday, the new Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, went to testify and mourn.

Ethiopia is lined with trails leading to ancient churches and other places of reflection. It is now the center of aviation in Africa, with jet streams crossing the sky.

The public pilgrimage to the scene of the accident began with Tewolde. He stood alone in the gaping crater, holding a wreck, in an image that was rapidly making its way around the world.

The investigators have now arrived in a multinational investigation of the accident.

Among the newcomers on Wednesday was the recently appointed Ambbadador of Indonesia, who told reporters that he had arrived in the country only the day before. He cried one of his compatriots.

The Chinese aviation experts present on the site stopped and made a modest offer to the victims: incense, fruits and pieces of Ethiopian bread, called injera.

They nodded in unison and resumed their work.

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