Hope for the Horizon, Pray For MH370

written by Chua Zi, Class of 2014, Form 5 Science 1

Photo Credit: Amanda Lee Yue Ping

It has been more than a day since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has caused upheaval in many parts of the world. The plane was carrying 239 passengers of 14 nationalities.

According to a statement released by Malaysia Airlines, flight MH370 was scheduled to land in Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time (22:30 GMT). Subang Air Traffic Control lost contact with the plane at 2.40am local Malaysia time on 8 March.

Air and sea rescue teams from Malaysia along with China, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore and the US have widened their search area in hopes of locating the missing plane. The teams have been searching the area of the South China Sea south of Vietnam where it went off the radar more than 24 hours ago. Malaysia Airlines has an extremely strong safety record and the Boeing-777 is one of the most popular long-distance planes today.

In a recent press conference, Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also the defence minister, said that there are at least four names on the passenger list who are suspect. “All the four names are with me and I have also spoken to the international intelligence agencies.” These include the FBI and other "relevant countries".

"Our hope is that the people understand we are being as transparent as we can, we are giving information as quickly as we can, but we want to make sure information has been verified," he said.

Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer said that 80% of the families have been contacted. The BBC reports that relatives and friends awaiting to meet passengers from the missing flight have been brought to a hotel close to Beijing Airport’s Terminal Three. They are distressed and have expressed frustration at the lack of information from authorities.

While the case remains at an open end, do keep in mind that it is one that may have also affected the lives of many around the world, if not already. #PrayForMH370

The public may contact +603 7884 1234. For media queries, kindly contact +603 8777 5698/ +603 8787 1276. All information above is cited from international news networks.