A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing is missing and all 239 people on board are feared dead. However, no Sri Lankans are among the passengers.
“We deeply regret that we have lost all contact with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m.earlier this morning bound for Beijing,” CEO Ahmad Juahari Yahya said in a statement released Friday night ET.
The airline is contacting next of kin of passengers and crew, Yahya said.
“Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support,” Yahya’s statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members.”
The twin-engine jet carried 227 passengers and 12 crew members. At a news conference in Kuala Lumpur broadcast by the Malaysian TV station Astroawani, Malaysia Airlines representatives said the people on board represented 14 nationalities, including 152 from China, 38 from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, seven from Australia, three from France, three from the United States and two from Canada.
Subang Air Traffic Control reported that it lost contact with flight MH370 on Saturday at 2:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. Friday ET), about 2½ hours after taking off, according to Yahya and a statement by the airline.
The Boeing 777-200 was to have landed in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. local time (5:30 p.m. Friday ET), the airline reported in its statement.
“Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft,” the carrier said.
The Xinhua News Agency, citing a local Vietnamese media report, says a Vietnamese search and rescue official reported that signals - possibly emergency transponder beacons - have been detected from the plane from about 220 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Vietnam’s southernmost coastal province of Ca Mau.
Developments appeared to be on hold at Beijing Capital International Airport at 11 a.m. local time.
The flight was listed as “delayed” on a board with information on international arrivals.
One woman who appeared to be about 30 and a male companion angrily pushed away journalists who approached with questions. Security led her away.
A handwritten sign on a notice board at the airport indicated that anyone there to meet the plane should report to the Beijing Lido Hotel “to understand relevant information.”
The public may contact the airline at 011-60-603-7884-1234 for more information, the airline said.
Information provided by Malaysia Airlines shows the crew in the cockpit were very experienced: the flight was piloted by Capt. Zaharie Ahman Shah, 53, of Malaysia. He has 18,365 flying hours and joined the airlines in 1981. The first officer is listed as Fariq Ab.Hamid, 27, of Malaysia. He joined the airline in 2007 and has 2,763 total flight hours.
Experts cite the plane’s strong safety record. Since it was introduced in 1995, the Boeing 777 has been involved in only two other major accidents and three hijackings, records show. - USA Today
