Yemen ? A Yemenia Air plane going from the Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen to the island nation of Comoros crashed in the Indian Ocean early today, a Yemen airport official said.

The official said the plane was going from the Yemen capital, San’a, to Moroni, on the main island of Grand Comore.

An exact number was not known, but more than 150 passengers and crew were believed to be on board the Airbus 310.

The official said most of the passengers on the plane were believed to be Comoros residents returning from Paris. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Comoros is an archipelago of three main islands situated about 1,800 miles south of Yemen, between Africa’s southeastern coast and Madagascar.