Photo courtesy of Facebook
Search efforts are still underway for a plane that vanished shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur Friday afternoon.
In a statement issued shortly after losing contact with the plane, Malaysia Airlines said, "Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014 (Editor's note: 11:41 a.m. March 7 EST). MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members."
According to several reports, the plane never entered Chinese airspace. There were various reports throughout the day of found wreckage, but according to Malaysian transportation officials they were all false.
And while there has been no sighting or confirmation of the plane's ultimate fight, Malaysia Airlines had already begun "calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew" by Friday evening EST.
According to the flight manifest Three United States citizens were on board, including an infant: Nicole Meng, Philip Wood, and Yan Zhang.
"We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft," said the airline in a statement Saturday morning EST. "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. We are working with authorities and assure that all sources are deployed to assist with the search and rescue mission."
According to the release, the last known location for the plane was 065515 North (longitude) and 1033443 East (latitude).
"An international search and rescue mission was mobilized this morning," said the airline. "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."
As the situation develops, Malaysia Airlines will continue to issue updates.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
