Tweets Expressing Grief and Prayers for Missing AirAsia Indonesia Flight

Jakarta Globe, Basten Gokkon, Dec 28, 2014

An official from Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency in Medan, North
Sumatra points at his computer screen to the position where AirAsia Indonesia Flight
QZ8501 went missing off the waters of Indonesia on Sunday. (AFP Photo/
Sutanta Aditya)

Jakarta. The plight of the AirAsia Indonesia aircraft that went missing on Sunday morning has captured the attention of the world on Twitter.

Flight QZ8501, which departed from Juanda International airport in Surabaya at 5:36 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Changi International Airport at 8:30 a.m. Singapore time, lost contact with air traffic control midway through its flight over the Java Sea.

The plane is carrying 155 passengers, including 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant — and almost all of them are Indonesian.

Following media reports AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes took to his Twitter account @tonyfernandes and asked people to “stay strong” and said that he was traveling to Surabaya.

At about 3:30 p.m., Fernandes tweeted that his thoughts were with the passengers and crew members.

My only thought are with the passangers and my crew.We put our hope in the SAR operation and ... http://t.co/m95Ei6OnEP
— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) December 28, 2014

The hashtag #QZ8501 quickly started trending and has been the most viewed on the microblogging network for several hours now.

Among international leaders, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tweeted he was sorry to have received such news. The tweet received more than 1,000 retweets as of 3:32 p.m.

Lee tweeted he had contacted Indonesian President Joko Widodo, offering help in the search for the missing plane.

Called Pres @jokowi_do2 to offer help. Two RSAF C-130 search & locate aircrafts are on standby. Our ministers will follow up. - LHL #QZ8501
— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) December 28, 2014

Malaysian Transportation Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who has been updating the public, sent his thoughts and prayers via his account @liowtionglai.

He also tweeted that the Malaysian government had set up a rescue coordination center and deployed assets to aid the search and rescue operation in coordination with the Indonesian-led effort.

Iriana Widodo, the first lady, posted on her account @IrianaJokowi, which is handled by her staff, that she hoped that the aircraft would soon be found.

She also tweeted that Joko, who is still in Papua after attending a Christmas celebration, had held a press conference where he instructed National Search and Rescue Agency, the Indonesian Armed Forces and National Police to do their best in the search.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla sent his prayers for the passengers and crew members onboard from his Twitter account @Pak_JK.

Former Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, took to his Twitter account @SBYudhoyono to send his wishes to the passengers and crew members.

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