The Latest: Ethiopian minister says black box in good shape
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The Latest on Ethiopian plane crash:
7:35 p.m. (all times local):
Ethiopia's transport minister says the black box from the plane crash one week is in good condition.
Dagmawit Moges told reporters on Sunday evening that data so far shows there is a "clear similarity" between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and an earlier one in Indonesia that involved the same type of plane.
Officials say 157 people from 35 different countries were killed when the Nairobi-bound plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
The crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and an earlier Lion Air crash have prompted the United States and other countries to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 planes.
The U.S.-based Boeing faces the challenge of proving the jets are safe to fly amid suspicions that faulty sensors and software contributed to the two crashes in less than six months.
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Thousands mourned the Ethiopian plane crash victims on Sunday, accompanying 17 empty caskets draped in the national flag through the streets of the capital as some victims' relatives fainted and fell to the ground.
The service came one day after officials began delivering bags of earth to family members of the 157 victims of the crash instead of the remains of their loved ones because the identification process is expected to take such a long time.
Family members confirmed they were given a 1 kilogram (2.2 pound) sack of scorched earth taken from the crash site. Many relatives already have gathered at the rural, dusty crash site outside Ethiopia's capital.
The victims Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 came from 35 countries and included many humanitarian workers headed to Nairobi.
Elias Bilew said he had worked with one of the victims, Sintayehu Shafi, for the past eight years.
"He was such a good person,"...