Indonesia Expresses Concern Over Malaysian Plane Crash

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government has expressed concern over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 298 people, including 12 Indonesians, near the Ukraine-Russia border.

        "The Indonesian government has been following news reports about the crash of Malaysian plane during its flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with deep concern," Foreign Affairs Minister Mary Natalegawa said in a press statement here on Friday.

        Indonesia expressed heartfelt condolences on the tragedy, the minister stated.

        The minister instructed the Indonesian ambassadors to the Netherlands and Malaysia to look for confirmation whether Indonesian citizens were on board of the ill-fated plane.

         President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to issue a statement on the plane crash later today, he said.

          The Malaysia Airlines passenger plane flight MH17 that crashed near the Ukraine-Russia border Thursday was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

        The origin of the missile remained unclear, and both government officials and pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied responsibility.

         There were 298 people on board, 283 passengers, including 3 infants, and 15 crew members. Ukrainian authorities told U.S. Embassy officials that everyone on the plane was "believed dead" and that the aircraft debris was scattered over a 10-mile swath of land, ABC News reported.

         Malaysia Airlines posted a list of passenger nationalities on its website for the 298 passengers and crew: 154 Dutch, 27 Australian, 43 Malaysian (including 15 crew and two infants), 12 Indonesian (including one infant), 9 British, 4 German, 4 Belgian, 3 Filipino and one Canadian. The airline said it did not yet know the nationalities of the remaining 41 passengers.(WDY)