Photograph by Charaka Ranasinghe
An international search and rescue mission has been mobilised after a Malaysia Airlines plane vanished en route to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens at 02:40 local time (18:40 GMT) on Friday at 065515 North (longitude) and 1033443 East (latitude), near Vietnam’s Cà Mau Peninsula, after leaving from Kuala Lumpur.
The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) of 14 nationalities, and 12 Malaysian crew members.
Malaysia Airlines have released the flight manifest now that the families of all involved have been contacted.
No wreckage was found after an initial search, and Malaysia has now sent a second wave of ships and helicopters to scour the area.
Regional disputes have also been put aside, with China dispatching two maritime rescue ships, and the Philippines deploying three navy patrol ships and three air force planes to aid in the search. Vietnam has also sent ships and aircraft to help, with Vietnamese fisherman in the area asked to report any possible sightings.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said:
Malaysia Airlines is still unable to establish any contact or determine the whereabouts of flight MH370. Earlier today, Subang ATC had lost contact with the aircraft at 2.40am. The last known position of MH370 before it disappeared off the radar was 065515 North (longitude) and 1033443 East (latitude).
We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft. We are working with the International search and rescue teams in trying to locate the aircraft. So far, we have not received any emergency signals or distress messages from MH370. We are working with authorities and assure that all sources are deployed to assist with the search and rescue mission.
…
Our focus now is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize our full support.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members.
The Boeing 777-200 has one of the best safety records of commercial airliners, with the only previous fatal crash being the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on 6 July 2013, which left three people dead.
Concerned family members and friends can contact Malaysian Airlines on +603 7884 1234 for further information.
