KL-Beijing flight missing: search underway

A Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew lost all contact with air traffic control shortly after leaving Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur at 00:41 a.m. on March 8, and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m.that same day.

Searchers from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have still found no evidence of any plane wreckage.

[20:34] Night falls, still no sign of flight MH370.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein says authorities can’t confirm anything yet.

Reporters set up camp outside the Lido Hotel. [Photo by He Shan/China.org.cn]

[19:55] More than 40 hours have passed since the missing Malaysian plane lost contact with air traffic controllers. Experts explain some of the major mysteries surrounding the missing plane.

How the plane suddenly lost all contact?

What happened to the plane at cruising altitude?

What is the odds for surviving?

WHY SO HARD TO LOCATE AND RESCUE? Read it here.

[19:33] According to Beijing Times, three relatives of the passengers on board the missing MH370 registered outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing tonight. They were ready to demand the embassy give them replies. Five relatives planned to register, however two did not go for unknown reasons.

[19:30] Journalists are gathering outside the grand ballroom in the Lido Hotel in Beijing for further infomation at 7:00 p.m, China.org.cn‘s He Shan reports.

Journalists are gathering outside the grand ballroom in the Lido Hotel in Beijing Sunday evening. [Photo by He Shan/China.org.cn]

[19:24] Yahoo News Malaysia: Jacky Ly Thang, a defense cooperation official in US Embassy Hanoi, told VN Search & Rescue Center just now that US search party has confirmed that the object – seen by Singaporean search plane earlier – had nothing to do with the missing plane.

[19:20] Vietnamese media reports that suspicious object is not related to flight MH370 reports.

[19:02] BBC has confirmed that two people travelling on stolen passports on the missing ‪airliner bought their tickets at the same time. They were booked on flights from Beijing to Europe.

[18:06] Philippine military said the initial search for the missing Malaysian aircraft had been unsuccessful by Sunday afternoon.

[18:03] The Singaporean Defense Ministry told Xinhua they have not received any official reports about the discovery.

[18:00] The Vietnamese military decided to send a helicopter to the area where the suspicious floating objects were spotted for further investigation, Vietnamese official media outlets reported.

[17:24] No information has been confirmed so far to suggest terrorism is behind the loss of contact with Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, said Ong Ming Choy, representative of Malaysia Airlines, in a press conference in Beijing Sunday afternoon.

[17:06] Xinhua: Singaporean vessels searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger plane have found some suspicious floating objects, Vietnamese official media outlets reported.

The Singaporean searchers have reported the finding to their Vietnamese counterparts, who are expected to arrive at the area in less than three hours, reported the Tuoi Tre and Thanh Nien dailies in their online editions.

[16:50] 11 countries have joined hands in search of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane: China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Indonesia.

[16:32] Nineteen families signed a joint statement requesting Malaysian Airlines to disclose the truth to them, and explain why they could get through to their family members’ cell phones but they could not hear anything and the calls hung up. They submitted the telephone numbers to the airline, which failed to response their questions with active measures. In response, angry family members threw water bottles at the spokesman, and vowed to protest in front of the Malaysian Embassy to China if Malaysia Airlines didn’t disclose the truth of the incident.

[16:16] When asked by China.org.cn reporter Zhang Lulu about why the phone of a passenger on board was reachable but then hung up, Ong Ming Choy, representative of Malaysia Airlines, replied that he dialed that number several times but no one answered. Relevant departments have been informed of the matter and an investigation is under way.

[16:07] Statement by MAS GCEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya

Together with all those affected by the MH370 incident, we understand the need to provide regular updates on the progress of the search and rescue operations. As the hours turn into days, we at Malaysia Airlines are similarly anxious and we appreciate the patience, support and prayers from everyone.

We however acknowledge that the most affected group in this incident is the families of those on-board. As such, our primary focus at this point in time is to care for the families. This means providing them with timely information, travel facilities, accommodation, meals and emotional support. Initial financial assistance has been given out to all families. Caregivers are already assigned to each family and they are trained staff and volunteers from Malaysia and Australia.

Family members of the MH370 passengers from Beijing who wish to travel will be flown in stages to Kuala Lumpur on the available flights. We are also communicating with the families from other nations to similarly arrange for their travel to Kuala Lumpur.

In the event flight MH370 is located, a Response Control Centre (RCC) in the area will be activated to support the needs of families.

The airline continues to work with the authorities and we appreciate the help we are receiving from all parties during this critical and difficult time.

[15:47] A spokesman from Malaysia Airlines told China.org.cn reporter Zhang Lulu that the allegations of fake passports need to be verified by the company’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

[15:30] The passport number of a Fujian native surnamed Yu matches that of a passenger named Zhao Qiwei, who was reported on board the missing MH370. According to the Straits City Daily, a newspaper in Fujian Province, Yu is still in his hometown, Fuqing, Fujian Province. According to Yu, he has never lost his passport, nor has he ever used it since it was issued in 2007.

The passport number of Zhao Qiwei, a passenger on board the missing flight MH370 matches that of a Fujian native surnamed Yu, who alleged that he has never used his passport to go abroad.

Reporters wait for more information and updates about the missing Malaysian Airlines flight inside Beijing’s Lido Hotel Sunday afternoon. [Photo by Zhang Lulu/China.org.cn]

[15:05] Malaysia Airlines hold another press conference in Beijing at 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Malaysia Airlines hold another press conference in Beijing Sunday afternoon. [Photo by Zhang Lulu/China.org.cn]

[14:50] According to the Exit-Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, family members leaving for Malaysia just need to take their ID cards to the reception hall of the Exit-Entry Administration to apply for a passport. A hukou (household registration record) is not a prerequisite for the application. The Exit-Entry Administration has designated specific staff to receive family members. “What we do may not help that much, but we will do what we can. We hope that all those affected are safe.”

[14:24] In an interview with China.org.cn reporter Zhang Lulu, Commercial Director Hugh Dunleavy from Malaysia Airlines denied that the incident is related to the financial difficulty of the company (which lost 400 million dollars last year according to some reports).

Dunleavy said, “We have really very impressive and very supportive contacts with the Chinese government, to work with them to make sure they facilitate everything we need to do, including bringing my entire team into China. We’re very pleased to have the support from Beijing and the Chinese government.” He said the easiest time for the family members to leave China for Malaysia will be tomorrow. “Before they depart, we need to make sure they have passports and visas. The vast majority of the family members do not have passports.”

[14:05] Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation has clarified that only two passengers with allegedly false passports were on board MAS flight MH370 according to the closed-circuit television (CCTV) records and not four as previously reported.

[13:52] CCTV reports Chinese maritime police vessel “Haijing 3411″ has reached the sea area where the missing jet is suspected to have fallen into.

[13:39] The National Tourist Group Services Management System has confirmed that 535 Chinese visitors from 26 tourist groups were in Kuala Lumpur at the time when the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control. Fourteen tourist groups have returned from Kuala Lumpur and none of them took flight MH370.Twenty eight Chinese travelers booked tickets on the flight independently and are therefore not in the system.

[13:35] malaysiakini.com: The search for the missing MAS flight MH370 has been expanded to include the possibility that the aircraft might have attempted to turn back, says acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

[13:09] According to vnexpress.net, 13 planes and 29 vessels have been on a search and rescue mission in relevant areas of sea so far, including three planes and six vessels from Vietnam, six planes and six vessels from Malaysia, two planes and 14 vessels from China, one plane and three vessels from the Philippines and one plane from Singapore.

[12:53] Four passengers on board the missing MH370 flight from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, have been confirmed as holding fake passports, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport announced on Sunday. Of the four passengers, two of them are holding Italian and Austrian passports and are sitting next to each other. The ministry has not ruled out the possibility that more passengers may have boarded the plane with fake passports. Intelligence agencies from Malaysia and the rest of the world are cooperating to investigate the issue.

Of the four passengers holding fake passports, two of them are holding Italian and Austrian passports and are sitting next to each other.

[12:45] Yan Jiacheng, from Yancheng in east China’s Jiangsu Province, leaves a press briefing given by Malaysia Airlines. His son, born in 1985, was sent to Malaysia for training by his company. Yan arrived in Beijing by train immediately after learning the horrible news about the flight from his son’s girlfriend. Malaysia Airlines will arrange a visit to Malaysia for Yan and his other son, reports China.org.cn‘s Zhang Lulu from Lido Hotel, near Beijing’s Capital International Airport.

Yan Jiacheng, from Yancheng in east China’s Jiangsu Province, leaves a press briefing given by Malaysia Airlines on March 9, 2014.

[12:10] According to a CCTV report, Chinese maritime police vessel “Haijing 3411″ is expected to reach the sea area where the missing Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines jet is suspected to have fallen into at 1:30p.m. Sunday.

[11:00] Rescue operations in hunt for a missing Malaysian jet have continued overnight, but nothing was able to be located so far, a Malaysian civil aviation official said in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sunday morning.

Malaysia Airlines: MH370 Flight Incident - 5th Media Statement

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.

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.

The sea mission will continue while the air mission will recommence at daylight.

For the passenger manifest of MH370, click here.

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China News Service: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced during a press conference on March 8 that the whereabouts of the Malaysian Airlines plane that went off the radar currently remain unknown and they will have to expand the search scope, according to Reuters.

In addition, Razak at the press conference held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport said the Malaysian authorities could not confirm that the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane losing all contact with air traffic control was due to a crash.

The Malaysian navy did not retrieve the aircraft in the area where it last made contact and thus will have to expand the search scope.