KLANG: The federal government will provide all the necessary support and assistance to the next-of-kin of all victims who perished in yesterday's Elmina plane crash, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The Prime Minister said this included the assistance for the families to manage the burial rites for their loved ones who were killed in yesterday's tragic accident.
"In addition, the government will also provide all the necessary assistance for the families who incurred additional expenses to purchase equipment and accommodation (near the hospital) especially to those without permanent employment and table income," he told reporters here today.
On a related matter, Anwar said he was satisfied with the involvement of government departments and agencies who were involved in the process of retrieving the remains of the victims from the scene until the management of their bodies at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) here.
"Since yesterday, I have been following the development of the incident.
"Alhamdulillah, I am satisfied with the action of personnel from the enforcement and security agencies, representatives from the Islamic Religious Department, the (hospital's and police's) Forensic team, the Welfare Department and several other government bodies.
"The preparations made including accommodation (for the next-of-kin of victims) were managed effectively and I thank those who helped and I am proud of their delivery service," he said.
Earlier, Anwar paid a visit to the families of the victims who were killed during the incident at the HTAR's forensic department.
In tow to welcome the arrival of the prime minister at the hospital's forensic unit were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Also present were Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Anwar spent almost 10 minutes to lend his emotional support to the next-of-kin of the victims.
"I would like to extend my condolences to the families of the victims. I pray that they remain strong during this difficult time.
"No one could imagine such an accident could happen.
"All that we can do at the moment is to accelerate the forensic investigation and the matching of DNA (to facilitate the identification of remains) processes.
"After all these processes are concluded, the Islamic Religious Council or Selangor government will do the necessary (to facilitate the burial rites for the victims)," he said.
Anwar later proceeded to perform Friday prayers at Masjid Jamek Ar-Rahimiah nearby the hospital.
It was reported that the six-seater Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) bearing the registration number N28JV had crashed near Elmina, Shah Alam during its approach into the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang from Langkawi.
The crash killed all eight people onboard as well as two road users.