Search and rescue effort launched for missing Malaysia Airlines plane
BEIJING – A Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was missing Saturday, the airline said, and a search and rescue effort was launched to find the plane.
Flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard was scheduled to land in the Chinese capital at 6:30 a.m. local time but did not arrive.
It departed from the Malaysian capital at 12:41 a.m. Saturday and lost contact with Malaysian air traffic controllers about two hours later, the airline said.
Two infants were among the passengers on the Boeing 777-200, the airline said.
The airline said the passengers were of 13 nationalities. China’s official New China News Agency said 158 Chinese nationals were on board the flight, which apparently disappeared before entering Chinese airspace.
The agency said the plane’s last known contact was with Vietnamese air traffic control, and the pilots had not been in touch with Chinese air traffic control.
The “focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support,” the airline said in a statement on its website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members.”
The airline said it was in the process of contacting family members of crew and passengers. Those seeking information on passengers can contact Malaysian airlines at +60-3-7884-1234.
Twitter: @JulieMakLat
Tommy Yang in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
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