Special prayers for the pilot of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane Yared Tessema Getachew are expected to take place today evening in Mombasa.

According to a source from the family, the prayers will take place at the Baluchi Mosque after the evening (Magharib) prayers.

Getachew was born of a Kenyan mother, Dr Rayan Shapi, of Mombasa and Dr Getachew Tessema who originally came from Ethiopia. The parents reside in Nairobi.

According to reports the late Getachew who was only 29 yrs old schooled at Oshwal High School in Nairobi.

According to the airlines Group CEO, Mr Tewolde Gebre-Mariam,  Getachew was a senior pilot who had been flying the same plane since November 2007.

The aircraft, with 157 people on board, including eight crew members, was flying from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. 32 Kenyans perished in the crash.

 Ethiopian pilots and flight crew held a vigil yesterday (Monday) morning in Addis Ababa.