By Asian Correspondent Mar 09, 2014 1:40PM UTC
At 2.40am local time Saturday Malaysia Airlines lost contact with flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The Boeing B777-200 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members. A search is now under way in the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. No wreckage has been found so far.
*** All times are Malaysian time ***
11.09pm: There will be no confirmation tonight on whether the objects spotted in the sea this evening are part of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet. Vietnamese officials say it is too dark and there will be no confirmation until daylight.
10.57pm: Multiple sources are now tweeting that the Vietnam Navy has found an object believed to be a part of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. This is as yet unconfirmed. There have been conflicting reports on this today.
10.47pm:
10.45pm:
10.51pm: Interpol “confirms at least two stolen passports used by passengers on missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 were registered in its databases… INTERPOL examining additional suspect passports.”
9.12pm: A number of news outlets have reported that the debris spotted in the Gulf of Thailand earlier today is not connected to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
7.56pm: As darkness falls on the Gulf of Thailand the aerial search for flight MH370 will once more be called off until dawn. The sea search will continue through the night. It is now more than 41 hours since Malaysia Airlines lost contact witht he plane.
7.20pm:
6.40pm:
5.40pm:
5.10pm:
4.01pm: Further confirmation now that the two passengers traveling under ‘false’ names/passports were booked to fly on to Europe:
3.42pm:
3.32pm: Bloomberg reports that “U.S. security officials last month cautioned airlines about a credible threat posed by shoe bombs.” 3.28pm:
3.18pm: Malaysia Airlines CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, has made a statement this afternoon:
As the hours turn into days, we at Malaysia Airlines are similarly anxious and we appreciate the patience, support and prayers from everyone. … Family members of the MH370 passengers from Beijing who wish to travel will be flown in stages to Kuala Lumpur on the available flights. We are also communicating with the families from other nations to similarly arrange for their travel to Kuala Lumpur. In the event flight MH370 is located, a Response Control Centre (RCC) in the area will be activated to support the needs of families.
3.17pm:
2.52pm: Malaysia Airlines is to update the press in Beijing shortly:
2.32pm: Associated Press reports that radar data indicates flight MH370 may have turned back:
Malaysia’s air force chief says that military radar indicated the missing Boeing 777 jet may have turned back, but declined to give further details on how far the plane may have veered off course.
Rodzali Daud told a press conference Sunday that “there is a possible indication that the aircraft made a turnback,” adding that authorities were “trying to make sense” of that.
1.41pm:
1.29pm:
1.09pm:
12.54: More than 33 hours after Malaysia Airlines lost contact with flight MH370 there is no sign of the plane and fears are mounting that there may be a terrorist connection. It appears that four of the passengers on the flight were traveling on false passports, two of which were stolen in Thailand. Malaysian authorities have confirmed that they are working with the FBI and intelligence agencies. Malaysia Insider quotes acting Malaysian Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as saying:
How the four individuals managed to board MH370 with stolen passports is being discussed. However, this is an international network and we cannot completely blame the Immigration Department. … Let us not jump to conclusions and make wild speculation. If it is a security lapse, then we have to ascertain where it occurred. We are looking at all possibilities but the main issue now is to locate the missing MAS MH370.
12.49pm:
12.41pm:
12.30pm: Malaysiakini reports that 4 people on board flight MH370 may have been traveling with false passports (paywall):
Four individuals on MH370′s passenger manifest might have might be linked to stolen or faked passports, acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
12.24pm:
12.22pm: Associated Press reports that a team of US experts is heading to Asia to help with the probe:
Federal safety officials say a team of experts is en route to Asia to be ready to assist in the investigation of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner that disappeared with 239 people on board.
The team includes accident investigators from National Transportation Safety Board, as well as technical experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.
12.12pm: BBC on the international search effort:
Malaysia and Vietnam have both sent planes and naval vessels to look for the missing flight. The US is sending the USS Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, which could be in the area within 24 hours. Territorial disputes over the South China Sea were set aside temporarily as China dispatched two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deployed three air force planes and three navy patrol ships. Singapore is also involved, while Vietnam sent aircraft and ships and asked fishermen in the area to report any suspected sign of the missing plane.
12pm:
11.52am: Two passports stolen in Thailand, one from Italy and one from Austria, were used to board the flight. Associated Press reports:
Foreign ministry officials in Rome and Vienna confirm that names of two nationals listed on the manifest of the missing Malaysian airlines flight match passports reported stolen in Thailand. Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that an Italian man whose name was listed as being aboard is traveling in Thailand and was not aboard the plane. … Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss confirmed that a name listed on the manifest matches an Austrian passport reported stolen two years ago in Thailand. Weiss would not confirm the identity.
Also from Associated Press: US State Department: 3 Americans on missing plane US tech firm had 20 employees on missing plane. 11.10am: The search for flight MH370 is continuing Sunday. No wreckage has been found so far. From Associated Press:
An international fleet of planes and ships has been scouring the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam for signs of the plane. They spotted two oil slicks late Saturday, which authorities say might have been from the plane. Deputy transport minister Pham Quy Tieu said no wreckage had been seen in the vicinity of the slicks early Sunday, but that the search was continuing.
9.30am: Malaysia Airlines issues its morning statement. The search goes on and the airline is giving assistance to families. It also announces plans to set up a command center in Kota Bharu, Malaysia or Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam “as soon as the location of the aircraft is established”:
The airline is doing its utmost to provide support to the affected family members, this includes immediate financial aid. The airline has deployed a team of 94 caregivers consisting of well-trained staff and also Tzu Chi Foundation members to provide emotional support to the families. The airline will also be deploying another set of caregivers to Beijing later today.
9am: For official Twitter updates from Malaysia Airlines, this is the account to follow:
9.19pm:
9.16pm: Associated Press reports:
Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that authorities suspect are from a Malaysian jetliner that went missing early Saturday. A Vietnamese government statement says the slicks were spotted off the southern tip of Vietnam. The slicks were each between 10 kilometers (6 miles) and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long.
7.56pm: Malaysia Airlines has published the passenger manifest from from flight MH370here 7.42pm: As night falls over the search area for flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines has said the air search has been called off until daylight Sunday. The sea search will continue through the night. It is now more than 17 hours since the the airline lost contact with the flight when it was over the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. The Malaysia Airlines statement says:
An international search and rescue mission was mobilized this morning. At this stage, our search and rescue teams from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have failed to find evidence of any wreckage. The sea mission will continue while the air mission will recommence at daylight.
7.16pm:
7.10pm:
7.06pm:
6.41pm: The mammoth task the search parties face:
6.29pm: Twitter update from Malaysia Airlines:
6.25pm:
6.12pm:There is approximately 90 minutes of daylight left in the area where the search for flight MH370 is taking place:
Image from timeanddate.com.
6.06pm:
5.38pm: Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong expresses his sympathies:
4.30pm: Malaysia Airlines ‘Go Team’ departs Kuala Lumpur to provide support in Beijing. 4.20pm: Malaysia Airlines statement:
We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft. We are working with the International search and rescue teams in trying to locate the aircraft. So far, we have not received any emergency signals or distress messages from MH370.
4.12pm: The Boeing 777 is widely regarded as one of the safest jets in the world. @WSJ reports here. 4.06pm:
3.44pm:
3.38pm:
3.08pm:
2.59pm: This graphic from @WSJ shows the planned flight path of flight MH370:
2.57pm: Malaysia to hold press conferences every 2 hours to update on situation. 2.53pm:A breakdown of the nationalities of the 239 people on flight MH370 from Malaysia Airlines website: China – 152 plus 1 infant; Malaysia – 38; Indonesia – 12; Australia – 6; France – 3; United States of America – 3 pax plus 1 infant; New Zealand – 2; Ukraine – 2; Canada – 2; Russia – 1; Italy – 1; Taiwan – 1; Netherlands – 1; Austria – 1. 2.47pm:
2.39pm:
2.25pm:
2.03pm:
Passengers walk past a signboard of Malaysia Airlines at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday. Pic: AP.
1.50pm:
1.47pm:
1.40pm:
The arrival board at the International Airport in Beijing, China shows a Malaysian airliner is delayed, Saturday. Pic: AP.
1.24pm:
1.16pm:
1.12pm:
1.08pm: From Associated Press:
BEIJING (AP) — China’s state media says Vietnamese authorities have detected signals from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
The Xinhua News Agency, citing a local Vietnamese media report, says a Vietnamese search and rescue official reported that the signals have been detected from the plane from about 220 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Vietnam’s southernmost coastal province of Ca Mau.
11.18am: From Associated Press:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — China’s state news agency is reporting that the Malaysia Airlines aircraft has lost contact over Vietnam.
Malaysia Airlines said Saturday 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.
Malaysian Airlines Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahyain, right, speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday. Pic: AP.
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