India stands with Indonesia in this hour of grief: PM Narendra Modi after 'Sriwijaya Air' plane crash

The Boeing 737-500 had 62 passengers and crew on board (including seven children and three babies).

Photo: Reuters

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (January 10, 2021) expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the plane crash in Indonesia and said that India stands with them in this hour of grief.

PM Narendra Modi tweeted, "Deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate plane crash in Indonesia. India stands with Indonesia in this hour of grief."

Deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate plane crash in Indonesia. India stands with Indonesia in this hour of grief. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 10, 2021

Indonesia's 'Sriwijaya Air' plane 'SJ 182' crashed into the sea on Saturday after taking off from Jakarta. The plane, Boeing 737-500, with 62 passengers and crew on board (including seven children and three babies) was headed to West Kalimantan's Pontianak and disappeared from radar screens four minutes after take-off. According to the tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft took off at 2:36 pm local time (0736 GMT) and climbed to reach 10,900 feet within four minutes and then began a steep descent and stopped transmitting data 21 seconds later.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian authorities have reportedly located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air plane. According to the recent reports, human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were also retrieved.

"We received three bags containing the debris of the plane and five bags of human body parts," said Operation Director of the National Search and Rescue Agency Rasman MS.

Notably, it is the first major aircrash in Indonesia since 189 passengers and crew were killed in 2018 when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.


(With inputs from news agencies)