Ban Ki-moon Offers Condolences Over Crashed AirAsia Flight

The UN chief, who said he had "followed closely" the developments around the AirAsia plane, conveyed his condolences to the families of the 162 crew members and passengers on board, and to the governments and peoples of their countries.

UNITED NATIONS, January 1 (Sputnik) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered condolences and appreciation to those who joined in the search for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, as search and recovery efforts continue.

The UN chief, who said he had "followed closely" the developments around the AirAsia Flight QZ8501, conveyed his "sincerest condolences to the families of the 162 crew members and passengers on board, and to the governments and peoples of their countries of origin, particularly Indonesia, which suffered the greatest loss."

Air safety is the mission of the International Civil Aviation Organization, part of the United Nations system.

The UN secretary-general expressed his gratitude to the countries that had offered naval and other help to the search-and rescue operation led by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia joined the international effort to find and salvage the airliner early on.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia was heading to Singapore on Sunday when it vanished off radars about 40 minutes after the takeoff. On Tuesday, its debris and bodies of people who had been aboard were spotted scattered around in the Karimata Strait off the coast of Borneo.