Absentee funeral prayers(Salat al- Gha'ib)  for the pilot of ill - fated Ethiopian Plane Captain Yared Getachew were held yesterday evening at the Baluchi Mosque, Mombasa.

The prayers were held immediately after the evening prayers (Magharib) led by Imam Nizar Mohammed.

Among those who attended the prayers were close family members led by the victim's uncle Khalid Shapi who is the Managing Director for Pollmans Tours and Safaris Limited.

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. He was only 29 yrs old and 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.

Ethiopian pilots and flight crew held a vigil on Monday morning in Addis Ababa.