Malaysia Airlines says it has lost contact with a plane travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
The airline said in a statement that flight MH370 disappeared at 02:40 local time on Saturday (18:40 GMT on Friday).
It had been expected to land in Beijing at 06:30 (22:30 GMT).
“Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft,” the carrier said.
“Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.”
The Boeing B777-200 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers, including two children, and 12 crew members.
The arrivals board at Beijing airport showed the flight as ‘delayed’“We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am earlier this morning bound for Beijing,” said Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines’ group chief executive officer.
‘Lost over Vietnam’
The passengers were of 13 different nationalities, the airline added.
The flight went missing two hours after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.
China’s Xinhua state news agency said it was lost in airspace controlled by Vietnam.
It said some 160 Chinese passengers were among the people on board.
The aircraft did not enter airspace controlled by China and did not make contact with Chinese controllers, the agency added.
“We are very concerned learning this news,” AFP quoted China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, as saying.
“We are contacting relevant authorities and are trying to confirm relevant information.”
Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines’ vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000ft (10,700m) and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines has told the BBC it will be holding a press conference later on Saturday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members,” said its statement.
The airline is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of Asia’s largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.
The route between Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has become more and more popular as Malaysia and China increase trade, says the BBC’s Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur.
Source: BBC
