MOGADISHU, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) top envoy in Somalia on Monday mourned the death of an AU mission senior official in the deadly plane crash in Ethiopia.

Francisco Madeira, special representative of the chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia, said he learned with shock and sadness of the sudden death of Christine Alalo who was until her demise the acting police commissioner of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Madeira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu that Alalo, a Ugandan, was among the 157 people killed aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi which crashed six minutes after taking off from Bole International Airport on Sunday.

He said Alalo will be remembered for her dedication, commitment and professionalism with which she led the AU police component in Somalia since 2015 and for the very positive results she was able to obtain in that capacity.