48 Hours..
Pray For MH370
It had being more than 48 hours and until now we still can't find them. The fuel only last for 7 hours and now the plane still missing. Search crews involving nine countries are working “every hour, every minute, every second” across a huge swathe of the South
China Sea but have yet to find any evidence of the missing
Malaysia Airlines flight, the country’s civil aviation chief said on
Monday.
Almost 60 hours after flight MH370 vanished from radar screens
in the early hours of Saturday officials remain “puzzled” by its
sudden disappearance and are considering all possible angles,
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said.
“Unfortunately, we have not found anything that appears to be an
object from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft,” he said.
The Beijing-bound flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew
when it went missing around 40 minutes after its 12.41am take-
off from Kuala Lumpur, over the seas between Malaysia and
Vietnam. The Boeing-777 was cruising at 35,000 feet when it
disappeared in apparently good weather, gave no indication of
any problems and did not issue a distress call.
Rahman added: “There are many theories that have been said in
the media; many experts around the world have contributed their
expertise and knowledge about what could happen, what
happened....We are puzzled as well.
“To confirm what happened on that particular day on this ill-fated
aircraft...we need concrete evidence, parts of the aircraft for us to
analyse, for us to do forensic study.”
He said that the government had not discounted speculation about
a hijack, but was looking at every possible explanation, noting
that it took two years to determine the cause of the 2009 Air
France crash.
He confirmed that five passengers had checked in for the flight
but not boarded, adding that their baggage was removed from the
aircraft as necessary in such cases.
Concerns that terrorist might be responsible have been fuelled by
the fact two passengers were travelling on stolen European
passports - although experts have said that fraudulent documents
are reasonably common on regional flights for a variety of
reasons.
The men who used them were of Asian appearance, Malaysia’s
home minister said late on Sunday.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told state news agency Bernama: “I am still
perturbed. Can’t these immigration officials think? Italian and
Austrian [passports] but with Asian faces.”
The Malaysian prime minister has said the country will review its
security procedures.
The passports were stolen from Luigi Maraldi and Christian Kozel
in the last two years, and were listed as stolen on Interpol’s
database. The international police agency said the documents had
not been checked with its system and that it had long urged all
countries to check passports systematically.
The suggestion that the plane may have turned back just before
disappearing from radar screens - mooted by officials yesterday –
remains unconfirmed, Rahman added.
Nine countries are now taking part in the search, which Rahman
said covered the area within a 50 nautical mile radius of the
aircraft’s last known position and the northern Straits of Malacca
in case the plane had turned back.
“We are every hour, every minute, every second looking at every
inch of the sea,” he said.
Forty ships are working round the clock, while 34 aircraft are
working during daylight hours. Potential sightings of aircraft
debris by Vietnamese searchers have not been verified, Rahman
said.
A potential sighting of part of a door had not been confirmed and
an item thought to be part of an aircraft tail turned out to be
several logs tied together, he said.
Authorities have taken oil samples from a slick in the area and
say they should know this afternoon whether it is connected to the
aircraft or came from a ship.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement it posted today that its
primary focus was caring for the families of passengers, some of
whom it has already flown to Kuala Lumpur. It has also sent
counsellors to Beijing as two-thirds of the travellers were Chinese.
“We appreciate the help we are receiving from all parties and
agencies during this critical and difficult time...Malaysia Airlines
is similarly anxious and we appreciate the patience, support and
prayers from everyone,” it said.
But many of the Chinese passengers’ relatives have complained
that the airline has so far given them little information or support
and have chosen to stay in Beijing.
An editorial in the state-run Global Times newspaper attacked the
airline and authorities on Monday, warning: “The Malaysian side
cannot shirk its responsibilities. The initial response from
Malaysia was not swift enough.”
It added: “There are loopholes in the work of Malaysia Airlines
and security authorities. If it is due to a deadly mechanical
breakdown or pilot error, then Malaysia Airlines should take the
blame. If this is a terrorist attack, then the security check at the
Kuala Lumpur airport and on the flight is questionable.”
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