Kalla Meets Families of Pasenggers Aboards Missing AirAsia Flight

Sidoarjo, E Java (Antara) -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with the families of passengers aboard the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 here on Monday. The flight, which was headed to Singapore from Juanda Airport, has been missing since Sunday. The vice president was accompanied by Coordinating Minister of Human and Culture Development Puan Maharani, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, and a number of local officials from East Java, among others. "The government extends its sympathies to the families of the passengers. The government and other agencies such as the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the military, police force, and people have been working together to search for the missing plane. Singapore and Malaysia are also helping. We hope we have better results to report today," Kalla said while meeting with the family members and relatives of the passengers at Juanda Airport. It is more difficult to find a flight in the sea than on land, he stated, adding, "But we will put in our best efforts even in the current bad weather conditions." "The government has yet to give a deadline for when the search operations will be halted. But being determined to find the victims soon is more important," Kalla emphasized.