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A total of 22 aircraft and 40 ships are combing the South China Sea to locate a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with 239 people on board that was missing and feared crashed at sea, a senior military official said Sunday.
Malaysian armed forces chief Zulkifeli Zin said these “assets” did not include the ships and planes Vietnam deployed within their territory in the search for the Boeing 777-200 passenger jet that vanished early Saturday about an hour after departing from Kuala Lumpur headed for Beijing.
Zulkifeli said the area for search and rescue operations had been expanded amid indications the missing aircraft turned back shortly before disappearing near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace.
Missing plane may have turned back
The Malaysia Airlines plane missing in the South China Sea for a day may have turned back before losing contact, an official said Sunday.
There were indications that the Boeing 777-200 passenger jet bound for Beijing turned around shortly before disappearing near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace, Malaysian armed forces chief Zulkifeli Zin told reporters.
The area for search and rescue operations had been expanded to allow for the possibile change of course, he said.
Chinese family makes contact with missing passenger’s phone
The family of a Chinese passenger missing on flight MH370 have made contact with his mobile phone and Malaysian authorities are trying to use the signal to locate the plane, Chinese state television reported on Sunday.
Beijing Television said it also called the man’s mobile phone and appeared to connect with it before the call was cut off.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane disappeared early Saturday as it was carrying 227 passengers, most of them Chinese, and 12 crew to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.
Airline to fly relatives from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Airlines on Sunday said it will begin flying up to five relatives of each missing passenger from flight MH370 from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
“Family members of the MH370 passengers from Beijing who wish to travel will be flown in stages to Kuala Lumpur on the available flights,” said Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, the airline’s chief executive.
“We are also communicating with the families from other nations to similarly arrange for their travel to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
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