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Saturday 8 March 2014

PLANE VANISHES OFF VIETNAM: Search teams scour seas for signs of presumed crashed Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 passengers, including 3 Americans, to Beijing

Officials have lost contact with Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 passengers to Beijing

The relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cries as she talks on her mobile phone at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Saturday.

Vietnam Air Force planes have spotted two oil slicks suspected to be from a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 passengers and crew, including three Americans, that is feared downed in southeast Asia, the Vietnamese government said in a statement. 
Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur was only two hours into about a six-hour flight to Beijing when it lost contact with air traffic controllers early Saturday, the officials say. 

Officials plan search and rescue operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa in the Philippines on Saturday. 

AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPINE MILITARY WESTERN COMMAND

Officials plan search and rescue operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa in the Philippines on Saturday. 

Malaysian Airlines said that it was working with international authorities on the search and rescue mission.
"Our team is currently calling family members of passengers to keep them updated on the situation, and our focus now is to work with the emergency responders and the authorities," the airline said in a statement.
A distraught woman whose husband was aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is assisted at a Beijing hotel as she and other relatives and friends await information on their loved ones.

JASON LEE/REUTERS

A distraught woman whose husband was aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is assisted at a Beijing hotel as she and other relatives and friends await information on their loved ones.

There were 227 passengers on the B777 plane, including two infants and an additional 12 crew members. Along with the Americans, 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians, 7 Australians and 32 people from France were among the passengers, authorities said at a news conference.
The passengers were of 14 different nationalities, the airline said.
Family members look at a wedding album of Norliakmar Hamid and Razahan Zamani, passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane, as they anxiously wait for news early Saturday morning in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia and Vietnam are leading a search for the lost jet. 

MOHD RASFAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Family members look at a wedding album of Norliakmar Hamid and Razahan Zamani, passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane, as they anxiously wait for news early Saturday morning in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia and Vietnam are leading a search for the lost jet. 

The Vietnamese Navy said in a statement that the plane went down in the waters between Vietnam and Malaysia, roughly 153 nautical miles off Tho Chu Island in Kien Giang Province, the Vietnamese Tuoi Tre News reported. Malaysia's transport minister said later, however, that no crash scene had been identified.
Local authorities have been dispatched with a search and rescue crew to look for the plane.
Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (center), along with other Malaysian Airlines staff, announce the missing of MH370 Malaysian Airlines aircraft at a press conference Saturday.

AHMAD YUSNI/EPA

Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (center), along with other Malaysian Airlines staff, announce the missing of MH370 Malaysian Airlines aircraft at a press conference Saturday.

It’s unclear where exactly the plane may be along the 2,300-mile flightpath. The plane was reportedly lost while it was in Vietnamese airspace, Reuters reported.
"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji told Anderson Cooper on CNN.
A man who was to pick up the spouse of his boss is surrounded by the media at Beijing International Airport on Saturday.

XIAO LU CHU/GETTY IMAGES

A man who was to pick up the spouse of his boss is surrounded by the media at Beijing International Airport on Saturday.

The plane was scheduled to land at the equivalent of 5:30 p.m. Friday on the East Coast.
The 53-year-old pilot had some 33 years experience with the airline, authorities said.
A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries at the Beijing Capital International Airport. 

KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries at the Beijing Capital International Airport. 

- With News Wire Services
A man stands beside the arrival board showing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (in red) after news that the plane disappeared on Saturday.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A man stands beside the arrival board showing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (in red) after news that the plane disappeared on Saturday.

This same Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER, shown taking off from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on  Dec. 26, 2011, was carrying 239 people when it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

LAURENT ERRERA/AP

This same Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER, shown taking off from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on  Dec. 26, 2011, was carrying 239 people when it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

This screen grab from flightradar24.com shows the last reported position of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on Friday night, March 7. The Boeing 777-200 carrying 239 people lost contact over the South China Sea on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and international aviation authorities still haven't located the jetliner.

FLIGHTRADAR24.COM/AP

This screen grab from flightradar24.com shows the last reported position of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on Friday night, March 7. The Boeing 777-200 carrying 239 people lost contact over the South China Sea on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and international aviation authorities still haven't located the jetliner.

Breakdown of Passengers Aboard Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

China - 153, including one infant
Malaysia - 38
Indonesia - 12
Australia - seven
France - three
United States - three, including one infant
New Zealand - two
Ukraine - two
Canada - two
Russia - one
Italy - one
Taiwan - one
Netherlands - one
Austria - one

Credit: NY Daily News

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