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President Jokowi offers condolences over Sriwijaya plane crash

President Joko Widodo has extended deep condolences over Sriwijaya Air plane crash in the waters of Seribu Islands on Saturday.

"I, on behalf of the Indonesian government and people, offer deep condolences over this accident," he said on the Presidential Secretariat Youtube on Sunday.

The head of state was informed of the plane crash on Saturday evening shortly after the accident occurred. Since then, he had received updated reports of the accident including developments in search for victims and debris of the plane which crashed in the waters off North Jakarta's coast. 

He later ordered his staff including the transportation minister, the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) to conduct search and rescue operations immediately along with the Indonesian military and police personnel. 

"Last evening and last night I was informed by the transportation minister of Sriwijaya plane with flight number SJY 182 which crashed in the waters of Seribu Islands en route from Jakarta to Pontianak," he said.

The plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 2.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, and was scheduled to land at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, at 3:50 p.m. Based on the manifest, the plane carried 50 passengers and 12 crew members.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) are in the process of trying to find the whereabouts of the ill-fated plane.The Ministry of Transportation has confirmed that airport authorities lost contact with Sriwijaya Air flight number SJY 182 serving the Jakarta-Pontianak route at approximately 2:40 p.m.

According to the ministry, tthe Boeing 737-500 jet, registration number PK CLC, had its last contact at a position 11 nautical miles north of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, in suburban Jakarta, after passing an altitude of 11,000 feet and while rising to 13,000 feet//ANT