PH gov’t prays for missing AirAsia flight

An airport official checks a map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authority for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with over 160 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. AP/Trisnadi

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government on Sunday expressed sympathy for the families of the passengers on a missing AirAsia flight which was supposedly headed towards Singapore.

“Our thoughts are with the families of the passengers and we are one with them in their hopes and prayers,” Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

The statement came after other Southeast Asian countries offered assistance in the search.

AirAsia flight QZ8501, which was carrying 162 passengers and crew members, was flying over Java Sea when it lost communication with the Indonesian Air Traffic Control. It left Surabaya, Indonesia on Sunday morning and was supposed to land in Singapore a couple of hours later.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Malaysian government will help AirAsia, while Singapore’s Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said their military planes and ships are already on standby.

AirAsia is a low-cost airline based in Malaysia.

Earlier this year, Malaysia Airline flight MH370 went missing on its way to Beijing, from Kuala Lumpur. Another Malaysia Airlines plane, flight MH17, was shot down over a rebel-controlled area in Ukraine in July.

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