This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-loses-contact-with-planecarrying-239-people-on-board-9177955.html

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Malaysia Airlines 'loses contact with plane carrying 239 people' Malaysia Airlines 'loses contact with plane carrying 239 people'
(about 3 hours later)
China's state news agency is reporting that the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft lost contact over Vietnam. A Malaysia Airlines 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 had not located the jetliner several hours later.
Malaysia Airlines said it lost communication with a plane carrying 239 people on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and search and rescue teams were trying to locate the aircraft. The plane lost communication two hours into the flight in Vietnam's airspace at 1.20am local time (18:20 GMT Friday), China's official Xinhua News Agency said.
According to China's Xinhua News Agency, the plane lost communication over Vietnam with the control department in the Ho Chi Minh area at 1.20am local time and that radar contact also was lost. Vietnamese website VN Express said a Vietnamese search and rescue official reported that signals from the plane were detected about 120 nautical miles (140 miles) south-west of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province.
The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members. Malaysia Airlines said it was working with authorities who activated their search and rescue teams to locate the aircraft. The route would take the aircraft from Malaysia across to Vietnam and China.
Flight MH370 lost contact with the Subang air traffic control near Kuala Lumpur at 2.40am local time (18.40 GMT Friday). "Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support," Malaysia Airlines Chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said.
The flight was operated on the Boeing 777-200 aircraft. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am local time (16:41 GMT Friday) and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30am local time (22:30 GMT Friday).
The airline said it was working with authorities who activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft. The route would take the aircraft from Malaysia across to Vietnam and China.
"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support," Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," he added."Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," he added.
All countries in the possible flight path of the missing aircraft were performing a "communications and radio search", said John Andrews, deputy chief of the Philippines' civil aviation agency.
Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.
He said the aircraft's last communication was over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am local time Saturday (16.41 GMT Friday) and had been expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am local time Saturday (22.30 GMT Friday), Malaysia Airlines said.
The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said. Passengers were from 14 countries, including 153 from China, 38 from Malaysia, seven Australians and four Americans.
At Beijing's airport, authorities posted a notice asking relatives and friends of passengers to gather to a hotel about nine miles from the airport to wait for further information, and provided a shuttle bus service.
Zhai Le was waiting for her friends, a couple who were on their way back to the Chinese capital on the flight. She said she was very concerned because she had not been able to reach them.
A woman wept aboard the shuttle bus while saying on a mobile phone: "They want us to go to the hotel. It cannot be good."
Mr Yahya said the 53-year-old pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, has more than 18,000 flying hours and has been flying for Malaysia Airlines since 1981.
The first officer, 27-year-old Fariq Hamid, has about 2,800 hours of experience and has flown for the airline since 2007.
Malaysia Airlines' last fatal incident was in 1995, when one its planes crashed near the Malaysian city of Tawau, killing 34 people.
Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200 jets in its fleet of about 100 planes. The state-owned carrier last month reported its fourth straight quarterly loss.Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200 jets in its fleet of about 100 planes. The state-owned carrier last month reported its fourth straight quarterly loss.
The 777 has not had a fatal crash in its 20 year history until the Asiana crash in San Francisco in July 2014. The 777 had not had a fatal crash in its 20-year history until the Asiana crash in San Francisco in July 2013. All 16 crew members survived, but three of the 291 passengers, all teenage girls from China, were killed.
PAPA