Duterte condoles with families of plane explosion victims

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday extended his condoles to the families of the victims of an airplane explosion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that killed all eight people onboard.

“My condolences to the families and I assure you we will help you in any way we can. Do not be discouraged,” Duterte said in his televised address, which focused mainly on the government’s response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Malacañang had earlier called for a probe of the incident and stressed the need for more measures to secure the safety of aircraft and passengers.

READ: Palace wants probe of plane crash at NAIA that killed 8

A Lionair plane heading for Haneda in Japan caught fire and exploded on a NAIA runway on Sunday night. The flight was on a medical mission.

READ: Plane going to Japan explodes on NAIA runway, killing all 8 people on board

The eight passengers aboard the plane were a flight medic, a nurse, a doctor, three flight crew members, a patient, and a companion.

/atm