Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mohamed Asim has sent a message of condolence following the plane crash incident of Lion Air.
In the message, Foreign Minister Asim expressed sadness and shock over the news of the crash of Lion Air flight Jt610. The foreign minister further conveyed sincere condolences and sympathies to Lion Air, the government and the brotherly people of Indonesia on behalf of himself, the government and the people of Maldives during this time of national grief and distress.
An Indonesian Lion Air plane crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta. It had a technical problem on a previous flight, but it had been resolved according to procedure. Ground staff lost contact with the budget airline Lion Air 13 minutes after the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft took off on its way to the tin-mining town of Pangkal Pinang.
Indonesia has widened its search area for the wreckage of the aircraft which was carrying 189 people on board.