BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday sent a message of condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, following the recent incident of the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

In the message, the monarch expressed his deep sadness at hearing the news of the missing flight. His Majesty as well as the government and people of Brunei prayed to Allah SWT for successful efforts to locate the missing aircraft and its passengers.

His Majesty hoped the president and all the people of Indonesia, particularly families of the victims, would be able to face the tragedy with patience and fortitude.

No Bruneians were reported to be on the missing flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore.

In the statement issued by AirAsia, a total of 162 people were aboard the flight with 138 adults, 16 children and an infant. Two pilots and five cabin crew were also reported to be on the flight.

Among those on board included a Singaporean, a Malaysian, a French person, a British national, three South Koreans and 155 Indonesians.

The Civil Aviation Department in a statement issued on Sunday said it did not receive any information regarding the presence of Bruneian passengers on board the flight. Additionally, the department advised members of the public to refrain from speculating and spreading unverified information through social media.

The AirAsia flight QZ 8501 was reported to have lost contact with air traffic control while within the Kalimantan and Belitung Island airspace at 7.24 am local time. It was scheduled to arrive at Singapore’s Changi International Airport at 8.30 am local time.

The plane, an Airbus A320-200 had asked to change its flight path due to bad weather, according to the airline’s statement.

The Brunei Times