UAE leaders offer condolences to kin of Lion Air crash victims

Abu Dhabi - Lion Air with 189 people on board crashed into the sea soon after taking off from Jakarta.

The President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, for the victims of the Lion Air passenger jet which crashed in Indonesian waters on Monday.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, sent similar cables to the Indonesian President.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air with 189 people on board crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital, Jakarta, on a flight to a tin-mining region.
Flight JT610 lost contact with ground officials 13 minutes after takeoff on Monday. It has sunk in waters about 30 metres to 35 metres (98 to 115 ft) deep, about 15 km (9 miles) north of the coast of Java island.
Search and rescue personnel worked through the night to find victims, sending 24 body bags to identification experts as the airline flew dozens of grieving relatives to the country's capital.
The disaster has reignited concerns about safety in Indonesia's fast-growing aviation industry, which was recently removed from European Union and US blacklists.

• UAE