KL-Beijing flight missing: search underway

China.org.cn: China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang on the afternoon of March 8 spoke to the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on the phone to discuss swift cooperation in the launch of an emergency search and rescue mission to retrieve the missing Malaysian Airlines plane. Razak expressed his deepest regrets and apologies to the relatives of all Chinese passengers on board of the plane and assured Li that Malaysia would use all its power to retrieve the vessel according to the Chinese central government's official web portal (gov.cn).

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Xinhua: The "3411" Chinese maritime police vessel has put contingency plans into full swing and is expected to arrive at the possible crash area of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane on March 9 afternoon.

Many reporters wait for more information and updates about the missing Malaysian Airlines flight inside Beijing's Lido Hotel where the family members of passengers and the airlines staff have gathered in the evening of March 8, 2014. [Photo by Zhang Rui / China.org.cn]

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China.org.cn: Kyoto News Service announces that Vietnamese troops have found oil traces in the sea, running across 20 kilometers.

China.org.cn: According to our correspondent Zhang Rui currently at the Lido Hotel, emergency personnel has just entered the family area as some people have allegedly become unwelll. At this point, anyone who enters or exits the area where the relatives of those on board the plane are gathered, is photographed.

According to Sina News, Beijing's Lido Hotel has just issued roomcards to the gathered families so they can rest up. Several of the relatives have asked to fly to Kuala Lumpur, but Malaysia Airlines as of yet has not responded to their requests.

According to CCTV News, the Vietnam National Search and Rescue Services informed China that the missing Malaysian Airlines passenger plane may have lost all contact in an area where Malaysian and Vietnamese authorities overlap. The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center later mapped out the suspected location of the passenger plane. The Ministry of Transport has dispatched its "South China Sea Rescue 115" and "South China Sea Rescue 101" vessels to the area.

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China.org.cn: Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya on the afternoon of March 8 said flight MH370 still remains completely off the radar. He added all Malaysian Airlines flights will resume normal operation, according to Reuters.

Anxious family members wait in Lido Hotel [Photo / Xinhua]

According to a China News Service update, the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng has called an emergency meeting with envoys from Malaysia and Vietnam in light of the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger plane. The attending press and distressed families of those on board remain uncertain and are still waiting for any updates.

According to the official Malaysian Airlines website, the airline has issued a correction in regards to the nationalities of all those on board. They show that the number of Indonesian passengers was in fact seven, instead of the earlier reported 12, and five more on board held the Indian nationality.

According to United Morning News, the Singapore Air Force has dispatched a C130 Hercules transport plane to search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight.

According to the Malay Mail, the CEO of Malaysian Airlines announced they had managed to contact 80 percent of passengers' relatives.

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Xinhua: The head of Malaysia's Ministry of Transport announced at a press conference on the afternoon of March 8 that Malaysia has dispatched its navy to conduct a search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200.

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South China Sea Rescue Bureau: The Bureau's latest update regarding the Boeing 777-200, reads that the vessels from the South China Sea Rescue Bureau are ready for an immediate departure to the alleged crash site of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight and have received instructions regarding a possible rescue operation.

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China.org.cn: Many families of those on board the Malaysia Airlines flight are currently waiting for any news or updates on their relatives at Beijing's Lido Hotel. Emotions are running high as they have received no information from the airline, not even a list of the names of those on board of the missing aircraft.

Many at the venue are crying in desperation, checking their messages over and over again, without even a chair to sit on. Airline representatives remain nowhere to be seen. The waiting families are demanding the airline takes up its responsibilities and provides them with the latest updates now.

Malaysia Airlines is currently in touch with the different search and rescue teams to determine the plane's location.

The flight's captain was 53-year-old Malaysian Zaharie Ahmad Shah who joined the airline in 1981 and had gathered a total of 18,365 flight hours. First officer on board was 27-year-old Malaysian Fariq Ab. Hamid who joined the airline in 2007 and had thus far gathered a total of 2,763 flight hours.

Photo of Zaharie Ahmad Shah (R) and Fariq Ab [Photo / Ifeng]

Malaysia Airlines is cooperating with emergency services and authorities and staff is now contacting the families of those on board the missing Boeing 777-200.

Our journalist Zhang Rui added that the missing flight had on board 239 people in total, of which 227 were passengers (including two infants) and 12 were crew members. Passengers stemmed from 14 countries, with 154 Chinese citizens (Chinese mainland: 153, Taiwan: one).

Latest update from the South China Sea Rescue Bureau. The media have wrongfully reported that two rescue vessels had been dispatched earlier today, at 10:49 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. from Xisha and Haikou respectively, as these boats were leaving for Anchorage. The South China Sea Rescue Bureau is currently preparing to send out three standby rescue vessels.

According to our correspondent Zhang Rui, Malaysia Airlines spokesperson Liu Guohua believes the plane may have landed on Vietnam's Nanming area and therefore as of yet still refuses to use the word "crash."

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Reuters: Vietnamese state media, quoting a senior naval official, had reported that the Boeing 777-200ER flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had crashed off south Vietnam, but Malaysia's transport minister later denied any crash scene had been identified.

"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.

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CCTV: Malaylasia Airlines has thus far not yet officially confirmed the crash and for the moment has only released the information that all contact with the Boeing 777-200 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was lost. The press conference, which lasted a total of five minutes, has already ended.

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China.org.cn: From our correspondent at the Malaysia Airlines press conference. Malaysian Airlines has announced that the captain of its crashed Boeing 777-200, carrying 239 people on board, had been with the airline since 1981, while his first officer joined in 2007. Both the airline and emergency services are currently providing their full support and will update information according to the latest developments.