This article is from the source 'guardian' 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.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/08/missing-plane-government-fears-the-worst-for-six-australian-passengers
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Missing plane: government ‘fears the worst’ for six Australian passengers | Missing plane: government ‘fears the worst’ for six Australian passengers |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Australian government says it “fears the worst” for the six Australians aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight that has gone missing. | The Australian government says it “fears the worst” for the six Australians aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight that has gone missing. |
| They include two Queensland couples and another couple from New South Wales, the government said in a statement on Saturday night. | They include two Queensland couples and another couple from New South Wales, the government said in a statement on Saturday night. |
| Malaysia Airlines later released the passenger list. The missing Australians were Mary and Rodney Burrows, aged 54 and 59 respectively, and Catherine | |
| and Robert Lawton, 54 and 58, all from Brisbane. The two couples were reportedly | |
| travelling together. Li Yuan, 33, and Gu Naijun, 31, believed to be from Sydney, were also missing. | |
| Two New Zealanders on the passenger list were named as Ximin Wang, 50, and Paul Weeks, 39. | |
| Flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am bound for Beijing but traffic control lost contact with the aircraft about two hours later, the airline said in a statement. | |
| The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 227 passengers from 14 countries, mostly China, and 12 crew members. Key details about what happened remain unclear. | The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 227 passengers from 14 countries, mostly China, and 12 crew members. Key details about what happened remain unclear. |
| Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said consular officials were in contact with family members living in Australia. | |
| “The Australian government fears the worst for those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,” Dfat said in a statement issued on Saturday afternoon. | “The Australian government fears the worst for those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,” Dfat said in a statement issued on Saturday afternoon. |
| Australian consular officials remained “in urgent and ongoing contact” with the airline, which had advised that it was also contacting relatives of the passengers. | Australian consular officials remained “in urgent and ongoing contact” with the airline, which had advised that it was also contacting relatives of the passengers. |
| Australia’s parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Brett Mason, said the families of the missing passengers “must be desperately concerned”. | Australia’s parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Brett Mason, said the families of the missing passengers “must be desperately concerned”. |
| “The thoughts of the Australian government and I’m sure all Australians go out to them at the moment,” he told reporters. | “The thoughts of the Australian government and I’m sure all Australians go out to them at the moment,” he told reporters. |
| “There’s a lot of speculation [about what might have occurred] and I don’t want to add to that speculation.” | “There’s a lot of speculation [about what might have occurred] and I don’t want to add to that speculation.” |
| The Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing on Saturday was a Boeing 777, which aviation experts said had an “outstanding” safety record. | The Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing on Saturday was a Boeing 777, which aviation experts said had an “outstanding” safety record. |
| “It has probably been one of the safest aircraft in aviation history,” said Neil Hansford, chairman of consultancy firm Strategic Aviation Solutions and a former air freight executive. | “It has probably been one of the safest aircraft in aviation history,” said Neil Hansford, chairman of consultancy firm Strategic Aviation Solutions and a former air freight executive. |
| Hansford said more than 1000 Boeing 777s had been produced and just 60 incidents had been logged, most of them minor. | Hansford said more than 1000 Boeing 777s had been produced and just 60 incidents had been logged, most of them minor. |
| He said the chance of both engines failing at the same time was very low. “If you lost an engine in a cruise it doesn’t fall out of the sky,” he said. | He said the chance of both engines failing at the same time was very low. “If you lost an engine in a cruise it doesn’t fall out of the sky,” he said. |
| Hansford said he had seen some people speculating about possible sabotage or a bomb, claims he said were extremely premature: “How could anybody know make that sort of assertion this early?” | Hansford said he had seen some people speculating about possible sabotage or a bomb, claims he said were extremely premature: “How could anybody know make that sort of assertion this early?” |
| Dfat provided contact details for Australians seeking information about the incident. | Dfat provided contact details for Australians seeking information about the incident. |
| “The airline has established a call centre – phone +60 37884 1234 – for those seeking more information. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre is contactable on 1 300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas),” the statement said. | “The airline has established a call centre – phone +60 37884 1234 – for those seeking more information. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre is contactable on 1 300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas),” the statement said. |