Search continues for missing Malaysian airliner, three Americans onboard
The search continues for a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that vanished somewhere over the South China Sea, according to the latest from the airline.
Public domain image/Adrian Pingstone
The airline said the Boeing 777-200 “lost contact” with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2:40 a.m., two hours into the flight. The plane, which carried passengers mostly from China but also from other Asian countries, North America and Europe, had been expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday
Malaysia Airlines said that an international search and rescue mission was mobilized this morning. At this stage, our search and rescue teams from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have failed to find evidence of any wreckage. China and the Philippines have sent ships to the South China Sea to help. The Philippines also dispatched a military plane to help in the search.
The sea mission will continue while the air mission will recommence at daylight.
The families of all passengers on board MH370 are being informed. The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crew members.
The passengers are of 14 different nationalities. All crew on-board are Malaysians.
Three passenger are identified as Americans according to the manifest– 51 year old Philip Wood, 2 year old Yan Zhang and 4 year old Nicole Meng.
“We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure every possible angle has been addressed,” Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein told reporters near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
“We are looking for accurate information from the Malaysian military. They are waiting for information from the Vietnamese side,” he said.
Since that statement, it has been reported that the Vietnamese Air Force has seen two large oil slicks in the waters south of Vietnam.
[…] More details on the flight, missing passengers and early reports – HERE […]