On the Lion Air Crash in Indonesia

29 October 2018 — The Philippines offered its sympathies and prayers to Indonesia after a Lion Air 737 aircraft with 188 passengers and crew members on board crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta earlier today.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said there were no Filipinos on board the ill-fated aircraft that was bound for Pangkal Pinang in the Bangka Belitung Islands, 814 kilometers north of the Indonesian capital.

Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Hiong Wee said the Philippine Embassy was in touch with the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as the crash was reported. He said he was informed that there were no Filipinos in the flight manifest. END