Pope Francis on Wednesday conveyed his condolences to the families of those who died in Taipei earlier in the day when an TransAsia flight crashed into a river with 58 people on board.
The pontiff was saddened by the news of the loss of lives in the tragic air crash, Secretary of State of the Vatican Pietro Parolin said in a message sent on behalf of the pope.
The pope wishes to offer "his heartfelt condolences to the civil authorities and to assure the families of the deceased and the missing of his spiritual closeness," Parolin wrote in the message that was addressed to Archbishop of Taipei Hung Shan-chuan.
Pope Francis "prays for the eternal repose of the dead, and he invokes God's gifts of strength and comfort upon the injured and those who are in mourning," the message read.
It was released to the media by the Apostolic Nunciature (Holy See Embassy) in Taipei. Messages of condolence have also come from France, Britain and the European Union.
The French Office in Taipei, which represents France's interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties, issued a statement of condolence on its website.
In a similar vein, the British Trade and Cultural Office said it was "deeply saddened to learn of the TransAsia plane crash in Taipei today."
"Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who have lost their lives and with the injured," said the office, which represents the United Kingdom's interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
The European Economic and Trade Office, in a Facebook post, expressed sympathy to the families of the victims of the crash on behalf of the European Union.
"We share the sadness of all those who have lost loved ones and wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured," the post read.
As of 9:45am Thursday, 31 were confirmed dead, 12 were unaccounted for and 15 were reported injured. Taiwan's rescue services were still at work at the crash site.
The ATR-72 turboprop plane crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei about one minute after it took off from the city's domestic airport at 10:52am Wednesday.
It was en route to Taiwan's Kinmen islands, which lie just off the east coast of China.
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