NASSAU, Bahamas - Nearly 100 people are almost certainly dead after a plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Monday Morning.

Witnesses say there was a huge flash as Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed into the sea during heavy rain, only a few minutes after takeoff.

The BBC has reported 80 passengers and nine crew on board while the Lebanese National News Agency says there were 97 people on the plane.

As of 5:15am, 23 bodies had been pulled from the water. More than half of the passengers were from Lebanon, 23 were Ethiopian. There were also passengers from France, Russia, Canada, Syria, Iraq Turkey and Britain.

Flight 409 took off from Beirut, Lebanon around 2 a.m. local time (7pm on Sunday in The Bahamas) and was headed to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

The cause of the crash is unknown but weather conditions were difficult, with heavy rainfall and a thunderstorm looming. Lightning has been named as a possible cause.

A massive search effort is ongoing at the crash site.