Lebanon: Black box of Ethiopian jet retrieved

Beirut: A senior Lebanese army officer says marine commandos have pulled out the black box of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed into the Mediterranean.

The Boeing 737 crashed Jan. 25 minutes after takeoff from Beirut during a fierce thunderstorm.

All 90 people on board died.

The senior officer said the black box was "carefully" pulled out and taken Sunday to a Lebanese naval base in Beirut. He spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly to the media.

The official said the black box will later be handed over to a technical committee investigating the crash. The committee includes Lebanese, Ethiopian and Boeing representatives.