11:42 pm
Chinese divers and salvagers sent by theMinistry of Transport are on their way to the sea area where the missing Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines jet is suspected to have fallen into.
There will be a press conference at Sama Sama Hotel at 9.00 am tomorrow by DCA.
The emergency team is expected to arrive inSanyacity of South China's Hainan province Sunday morning and get on board a vessel bound for the sea area.
10:00 pm
Malaysian civil aviation authorities have officially demanded Vietnam provide information on discovered oil stains, the Straits Times from Singapore twittered.
9:36 pm
A Vietnamese government statement said the slicks were spotted late Saturday off the southern tip of Vietnam and were each between 10 kilometers (6 miles) and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long. There was no confirmation that the slicks were related to the missing plane, but the statement said they were consistent with the kinds that would be produced by the two fuel tanks of a crashed jetliner.
8:57 pm
Aviation expert: "For MH370 flight to disappear for this considerable length of time is quite odd." （Wall Street Journal）
8:23 pm
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| A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing March 8, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] |
8:15 pm
By Saturday night, the country's major insurers had found more than 70 policy holders on the plane, with the insurance coverage expected to exceed 20 million yuan ($3.2 million).
7:44 pm
Vietnam says that a ship and aircraft have been deployed to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
7:40 pm
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday that no sign had yet been found of a missing Malaysia Airlines plane
7:33 pm
Malaysia prime minster Najib Razak said that the Vietnamese government has agreed to conduct a search and rescue in its waters. Singapore and the United States also agreed to assist with the effort.
7:25 pm
Premier Li Keqiang called Malaysia prime minster Najib Razak over the missing plane and urged Malaysian authorities to intensify the search and rescue efforts. Najib Razak expressed the deepest sympathy and solicitude to family members of Chinese passengers and promised an all-out effort.
Malaysia will also send a team to China to deal with the accident.
7:12 pm
The State Oceanic Administration said on its website that China Coast Guard ship No. 3411 was immediately dispatched to waters near the possible site of the air crash after receiving information and it was expected to arrive at the destination around Sunday afternoon.
5:28 pm
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng met with Malaysian Charge d'affaires to China Bala Chandran Tharman and Vietnamese Ambassador to China Nguyen Van Tho Saturday afternoon over the missing Malaysian flight bound for Beijing with more than 150 Chinese on board.
5:12 pm
Malaysia Airlines updated its passenger list.
The passengers are from 14 different countries and regions. All crew on-board are Malaysians.
Please take note that the earlier statement did not include the number of Indian nationals. This was due to confusion between the country code of Indonesia and India.
The list comprises of 154 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four Americans, three French, two New Zealanders, two Ukrainians, two Canadians, one Russian, one Italian, one Dutch and one Austrian.
5:00 pm
Wei Wei is a design architect who works for CF de. Studio in Malaysia.
"For MH370, the plane that lost contacted, I am too familiar with it. Because of my work, I have been taking the plane and shuttled between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing for three years," said Wei.
"I've heard about some air crash tragedies, but none of them is so real, painful, frightening and sad to me like this time. The same time, the same air routine and the same flight. It sounded that it could have happened just on me."
"Every time my friend or relative takes the flight back, I will get up earlier than usual to check whether they arrived safely. I can fully understand the heart-breaking feelings of the relatives and friends of those passengers on board. I am feeling terrible, sad, and even my body is shaking."
4:55 pm
Families and friends of onboard passengers open up to China Daily
"I was supposed to be on that plane," said Liu Hongwei. One of the passengers, Meng Gaosheng, vice president of China Calligrapher Association, is a good friend of his.
Meng and 23 Chinese artists went to Malaysia for an exchange program. As the leader of the delegation, Meng invited Liu.
"But I was too busy with my work," Liu. "I really wanted to go. If Meng insisted I would be going with him."
Liu said he felt terrible about the tragedy. News about the missing jet shocked him and gave him a shiver.
"It could be me," he said.
Li Junfeng, friend of Liu Rusheng, another artist on the plane, said if the plane crashed, he’d be losing a great friend and a business partner.
"I talked to Liu before he left to Malaysia about a cooperation," said Li. "Now I can only hope for the best."
4:51 pm
Families and friends of onboard open up to China Daily
"The whole family of my pretty and delightful neighbor was on that plane!" said Lu Jiang, 32-year-old Beijing resident. "I have seen her name and the name of her husband and her 1-year-old baby on the missing passenger's list. I never thought this would happen. God bless them!"
Lu told China Daily she and other people in her community are still holding onto their last hope, as deaths haven't been confirmed. "I saw her a couple of days ago at a neighbor's party. She smiled and was so happy," Lu said. "But now she and her whole family are on that plane."
4:48 pm
China, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia are intensifying search efforts for the missing plane. Malaysia mobilized its navy and air forces, Xinhua reported.
4:36 pm
The top three trending topics on Sina Weibo are all about the missing Malaysian flight, with China Central Television calling people to pray for those on board the plane. Xinhua also urged the public to respect for the privacy of distressed family members and friends by not publishing the graphic photos showing their sorrow.
4:27 pm
Background - Boeing 777-200
Notable 777 features include a unique fuselage cross section, Boeing's first application of fly-by-wire, an advanced technology glass flight deck with five liquid crystal displays, comparatively large scale use of composites (10 percent by weight), and advanced and extremely powerful engines.[More]
4:05 pm
Jennifer leong, 26, a Malaysian who works in an education consulting company in Beijing, took the same flight about three weeks ago and said that their flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing caught fire mid air. "We were so frightened and I remembered us praying so hard on the flight. It was a relieved and miracle that we landed safely and no one was injured."
4:03 pm
Chinese ships and aircraft are on standby to locate and rescue the missing Malaysian plane carrying more than 150 Chinese passengers en route to Beijing, Xinhua reported.
Yang Chuantang, Chinese Minister of Transport (MOT), announced the launch of the highest-degree emergency response mechanism.
3:58 pm
Liu Guohua, general manager of Malaysia Airlines in China, is surrounded by reporters at a press conference.
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| [Photo by Kuang Linhua/Asianewsphoto] |
3:54 pm
Early reports from local Southeast Asia news of found plane are in error. The search continues. Our deepest concerns remain with the families of those on board.
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