One of the victims of the Ethiopian airlines plane that crashed minutes after take-off was about to retire from the United Nations and return to her hometown to get married.
Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, departing from the country’s capital Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi, crashed near the town of Bishoftu six minutes after take-off on 10th March, killing all 157 people on board.
UN translator Graziella de Louis Ponce, from the city of Merida in the eastern Mexican state of Yucatan, was one of the victims.
The 63-year-old woman, who spoke 11 different languages fluently, was reportedly travelling to a climate change conference in Nairobi at the time of the plane crash.
Her family founded the multinational company Bepensa, a distributor for well-known brands such as Coca Cola and Caribe Cooler.
The linguist studied in the United States and was recruited by the UN 35 years ago when she decided to live in Florence, Italy.
According to local media, de Louis Ponce was planning to retire and spend her final years in her home city of Merida.
She had reportedly bought land in the area of Temozon Norte where a house is currently under construction.
The Mexican authorities expressed their condolences for the 63-year-old’s death and said that they have already contacted her family to support them in the coming weeks.
Her cousin Jose Ponce Laviada told local media: “It is very sad. Graziella wanted to live here in Merida. She loved quietness and her plan was to set up an office here and marry her Swiss partner.”
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Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
