Male’, Maldives – Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid on Monday, has sent a message of condolence Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Retno L.P. Marsudi, following the tragic death of over than 60 people due to the plane crash of Sriwijaya flight SJ182 on 9 January 2021.
In his message, Minister Abdullah Shahid said that it was with deep shock and sorrow that he learned about the tragic news of the crash of Sriwijaya flight SJ182 off the coast of Java, shortly after taking off from Jakarta, causing the loss of lives of more than 60 people on 9 January 2021.
On behalf of the Government and the people of the Maldives and on his own behalf,Minister Shahid conveyed his condolences to the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, the Government of Indonesia and the families of the deceased at this hour of national grief and distress. He then asked for his sincere condolences to be conveyed to the members of the bereaved families.
In addition to this, Minister Shahid tweeted following the tragic incident saying that he is deeply Saddened by the tragic news of the SriwijayaAir plane crash. He also noted that our thoughts are with the families that lost loved ones and everyone affected by this tragedy a s that we stand with the people and the government of Indonesia at this time of national grief.
The missing Indonesia plane took off after one hour of it’s scheduled time at 2.36pm but lost contact at 2:40 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (2:40 a.m. ET). The flight is suspected to have dropped 10,000 feet in less than a minute before disappearing from the radar, according to the global flight tracking service Flightradar24.
The Indonesian airline industry has a worrying record, especially with Boeing 737’s which have been involved in multiple accidents over the years. The horrifying 2018 Lion Air crash which claimed 189 lives, was a Boeing 737 Max 8. While airlines in the country have slowly improved, this is yet another major setback for the industry in Indonesia.
