MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram to Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressing condolences over the passenger plane’s crash off Java Island, the Kremlin press service said on Monday.
"Russia shares the grief of those who lost their relatives and friends in this crash and wishes them courage and to be strong during this difficult time," the Russian president said in the telegram.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet en route to the city of Pangkalpinang (the capital of the Bangka Belitung province) crashed about 13 minutes after taking off from the Jakarta airport early on Monday. According to some data, 189 people were onboard the plane. Lion Air is Indonesia’s largest low-cost airline.