HONG KONG (SE): Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to China’s president, Xi Jinping, offering prayers for all affected by the crash of China Eastern flight MU5735 in which 132 people on board were killed in southern China, Vatican News reported. In what is considered the worst Chinese air accident in two decades, the Boeing 737-800, flying from Kunming to Guangzhou went down and ploughed into rugged terrain near Wuzhou in southern China on March 21.
The pope said he was “saddened by the news” and “is praying for those who have lost their lives and for the consolation of those who grieve them,” Vatican News said in a report. Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, signed the telegramme on behalf of the pope, the report said.
Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, also offered prayers for the victims of the crash in a Twitter message on March 22. “I pray for all the victims of the plane crash in China … May the Lord grant them eternal peace,” he said.
Media reported on March 23 that one of the plane’s black box flight recorders had been recovered and that relatives had been allowed near the crash site.
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