The United Nations office in Samoa flew the UN flag at half-mast yesterday, in memory of 21 United Nations staff who were killed in a plane crash in Ethiopia on Sunday.

In a posting on their Facebook page, the United Nations said their multi-country office for Samoa, Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue join the UN family to mourn the loss of staff who died in the Ethiopian plane crash early in the week. 

“The United Nations' multi-country office in Samoa, Cook Islands, Tokelau & Niue join our global #UN family in mourning the loss of UN staff members who died in the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed this week. 

“The UN flag is being flown at half mast at the One UN House at Tunaimato, Samoa (as in all other UN offices and duty stations around the world), in memory of the #UnitedNations personnel killed in the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy,” stated the Facebook post. 

The UN General Assembly and the Security Council separately observed a minute of silence, reports Xinhua.

At the beginning of a Commission on the Status of Women meeting at the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a brief statement to mourn the deaths of the UN staff members before delegates observed a minute of silence.

He said at least 21 UN staff members were killed in Sunday's crash. An undetermined number of other victims were working "close to" the United Nations.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The route was frequented by UN staff. The World Food Programme, a UN agency, lost seven of its staff members in the crash that killed all 157 people aboard.