A
relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries at
the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing March 8, 2014. The
Malaysia Airlines Boeing B777-200 flight carrying 227 passengers and 12
crew lost contact with air traffic controllers early on Saturday en
route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, the airline said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
A spokesman for the Malaysia Airlines confirmed it, saying there were 227 passengers and 12 crew on the aircraft.
Of the passengers, 152 were Chinese while the rest were from 14 other countries, including USA, Canada, Australia, Italy and France.
The plane lost contact with air traffic control early in the morning during flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and the international aviation authorities could not yet locate the jetliner even several hours later.
The plane lost communication two hours into the flight over Vietnam at 1:20am (18:20 GMT Friday), China’s state news agency said. The radar signal also was lost, Xinhua reported.
This AP file photo shows a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER takes-off at Narita Airport in Narita, near Tokyo.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes sent a tweet saying that the radio failed and all were safe, but the tweet was later deleted.
Sharuji said that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet and that the pilots reported no problem with the aircraft.
Flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41am Saturday (16:41 GMT Friday) and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30am Saturday (22:30 GMT Friday), Malaysia Airlines said.
The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said.
The airline 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.
“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 mobilize its full support,” Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members,” he added.
A
woman (C), believed to be the relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia
Airlines flight MH370, covers her face as she cries at the Beijing
Capital International Airport in Beijing on March 8, 2014. Photo:
Reuters
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