Search for vanished Malaysia jet widens as frustrations grow

By: 11 years ago

Relatives of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane sit on a bus at the Lido Hotel in China鈥檚 capital Beijing on Monday, March 10, 2014. Frustrations mounted on Monday over the failure to find any trace of a Malaysian jet that vanished carrying 239 people, even as the desperate search for the plane was significantly expanded. AFP PHOTO/MARK RALSTON

KUALA LUMPUR鈥擣rustrations mounted on Monday over the failure to find any trace of a Malaysian jet that vanished carrying 239 people, even as the desperate search for the plane was significantly expanded.

The initial zone spread over a 50 nautical miles (92 kilometers) radius around the point where flight MH370 disappeared over the South China Sea in the early hours of Saturday morning, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysian authorities announced Monday it was doubling the size of the search area to 100 nautical miles.

鈥淭he area of search has been expanded in the South China Sea,鈥� Civil Aviation Department chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters late Monday.

He also confirmed the search area covers land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast and an area to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The huge area now being covered reflects authorities鈥� bafflement over the disappearance of the flight, with 40 ships and more than 30 planes finding no sign of it.

Anger in China

Emotions are running high as Beijing blamed Kuala Lumpur for a lack of information, while tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers aboard voiced frustration with all sides of the response effort.

China said Malaysia needed to 鈥渟tep up鈥� its efforts after authorities admitted they were mystified.

鈥淭he Malaysian side cannot shirk its responsibilities,鈥� the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist Party, wrote in a scathing editorial. 鈥淭he initial response from Malaysia was not swift enough.鈥�

A day of conflicting information deepened relatives鈥� anguish, with tests on oil slicks in the South China Sea showing they were not from the Boeing 777 and reports of possible debris from the flight proving to be false alarms.

Hong Kong鈥檚 Civil Aviation Department said that a pilot on a flight from the southern Chinese city to Kuala Lumpur had reported seeing 鈥渓arge debris鈥� while flying over Vietnamese waters in the latest sighting to be investigated.

Terror probe

Malaysia has launched a terror probe after at least two of the passengers on board the plane were found to have traveled on stolen passports.

Two European names鈥擟hristian Kozel, an Austrian, and Luigi Maraldi of Italy鈥攚ere listed on the passenger list, but neither man boarded the plane.

Both had their passports stolen in Thailand in the last two years and questions swirled over how the two passengers using their documents managed to board the flight.

The United States has sent an FBI team to help investigate the passengers, but US officials stressed there was as yet no evidence of terrorism.

Malaysia鈥檚 police chief said Monday one of the passengers traveling with a stolen passport had been identified, but gave no further details.

Azharuddin said that the two men were not of Asian appearance, contrary to previous reports.

But he had few answers to the burning questions over the missing plane.

Asked whether it was possible the plane had been hijacked or disintegrated mid-air, he said nothing could be ruled out.

鈥淲e are looking at every aspect of what could have happened,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his unprecedented missing aircraft mystery鈥攊t is mystifying and we are increasing our efforts to do what we have to do.鈥�

Relatives wait

At a Beijing hotel, Malaysian embassy officials were processing visa applications for families wanting to take up an offer from MAS to travel to Kuala Lumpur to be closer to the rescue operations.

Scores of relatives made their way into the room, some in groups of five or six, clutching handkerchiefs and wiping away tears from their faces.

Others said they would not go. 鈥淭here is more we can do here in China,鈥� one woman told AFP. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 even found the plane yet.鈥�

A team of Chinese officials from government ministries headed for Malaysia on Monday, tasked with investigating the incident and helping family members already there.

As the search entered a third full day, other families of missing passengers gathered at a hotel in Malaysia鈥檚 administrative capital, Putrajaya, sharing breakfast as they stared intently at television news bulletins.

Malaysian officials have said there was a possibility that MH370 may have inexplicably turned back toward Kuala Lumpur.

The plane, captained by a veteran MAS pilot, had relayed no indications of distress, and weather at the time was said to be good.

Malaysia Airlines shares lost 18 percent at one point Monday as the market reacted to the jet鈥檚 disappearance, although clawed back most of those losses to close down 4.0 percent.

The incident is a serious blow for the carrier, which has hemorrhaged cash for several years amid mounting competition from low-cost rivals such as AirAsia.鈥�Shannon Teoh
Originally posted: 9:09 pm | Monday, March 10th, 2014

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