Rear Admiral Ngo Van Phat, Political Commissar of Naval Zone 5, told Reuters on March 8 that local media had misquoted him talking about the fate of a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 people aboard which has gone missing.
He said that the aircraft may have fallen into the Malaysian waters, 153 nautical miles from Vietnam’s Tho Chu Island, based on calculations on its speed and intended destination.
Phat insisted that he was merely speculating and rejected news articles in which he was reported as confirming the plane had crashed near Tho Chu.
Regarding the search and rescue mission, he told Reuters via telephone that it will be more effective with rescue teams from Thailand and Malaysia but Vietnam ’s naval ships on Phu Quoc Island are ready to join any mission if required.
Earlier, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein affirmed that there are no signs of a plane crash and denied information that the aircraft had fallen into waters off the shore of Vietnam .
He added that there are also currently no signs of debris.
The same day, Colonel Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of the Rescue Department under the Ministry of National Defence, said that two aircraft of the Air Defence - Air Force Service are prepared to aid any rescue mission once the location of the missing plane is detected.
The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre Zone 3 in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has deployed all on-duty officers and prepared two vessels for the rescue, said the centre’s Director Pham Hien.
According to the centre, the Malaysia Airlines passenger Boeing 777-200 left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 16:42 UTC on March 7 (23:42 Vietnam time).
At 17:21 UTC (00:21 on March 8 Vietnam time), the plane lost contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control at 06 o 56’N – 103 o 35’E over Malaysian waters, 120 nautical miles southwest of Vietnam’s Ca Mau cape and 25 nautical miles south of the Vietnam-Malaysia overlapping sea borderline.
On board were 227 passengers and 12 crew members from 13 countries, including 158 Chinese people.-VNA
He said that the aircraft may have fallen into the Malaysian waters, 153 nautical miles from Vietnam’s Tho Chu Island, based on calculations on its speed and intended destination.
Phat insisted that he was merely speculating and rejected news articles in which he was reported as confirming the plane had crashed near Tho Chu.
Regarding the search and rescue mission, he told Reuters via telephone that it will be more effective with rescue teams from Thailand and Malaysia but Vietnam ’s naval ships on Phu Quoc Island are ready to join any mission if required.
Earlier, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein affirmed that there are no signs of a plane crash and denied information that the aircraft had fallen into waters off the shore of Vietnam .
He added that there are also currently no signs of debris.
The same day, Colonel Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of the Rescue Department under the Ministry of National Defence, said that two aircraft of the Air Defence - Air Force Service are prepared to aid any rescue mission once the location of the missing plane is detected.
The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre Zone 3 in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has deployed all on-duty officers and prepared two vessels for the rescue, said the centre’s Director Pham Hien.
According to the centre, the Malaysia Airlines passenger Boeing 777-200 left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 16:42 UTC on March 7 (23:42 Vietnam time).
At 17:21 UTC (00:21 on March 8 Vietnam time), the plane lost contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control at 06 o 56’N – 103 o 35’E over Malaysian waters, 120 nautical miles southwest of Vietnam’s Ca Mau cape and 25 nautical miles south of the Vietnam-Malaysia overlapping sea borderline.
On board were 227 passengers and 12 crew members from 13 countries, including 158 Chinese people.-VNA
