The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre Zone 3 in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is ready to join the rescue of a missing Malaysian plane, according to its director Pham Hien.
Hien said that his unit has deployed all on-duty officers and prepared two vessels for the rescue, immediately after receiving information from the National Committee for Search and Rescue on the morning of March 8 that a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people aboard from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Beijing (China) lost contact at about 120 nautical miles southwest of Ca Mau cape in southernmost Vietnam .
Two aircraft of the Air Defence - Air Force Service are prepared to aid any rescue mission once the the location of the missing plane is detected, said Colonel Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of the Rescue Department under the Ministry of National Defence.
The department has urged the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to transmit a maritime announcement to all vessels operating near the area so that they can join the rescue when needed, he stated.
The centre has been asked to coordinate with the Consular Department of the Foreign Ministry as well as the Defence Ministry’s units in instructing on-duty vessels to follow Malaysia ’s search and rescue activities and stand ready for the mission, he added.
According to MRCC, a Malaysian 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.
Malaysia has sent low-range aircraft to conduct a search and rescue mission./.
Hien said that his unit has deployed all on-duty officers and prepared two vessels for the rescue, immediately after receiving information from the National Committee for Search and Rescue on the morning of March 8 that a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people aboard from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Beijing (China) lost contact at about 120 nautical miles southwest of Ca Mau cape in southernmost Vietnam .
Two aircraft of the Air Defence - Air Force Service are prepared to aid any rescue mission once the the location of the missing plane is detected, said Colonel Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of the Rescue Department under the Ministry of National Defence.
The department has urged the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to transmit a maritime announcement to all vessels operating near the area so that they can join the rescue when needed, he stated.
The centre has been asked to coordinate with the Consular Department of the Foreign Ministry as well as the Defence Ministry’s units in instructing on-duty vessels to follow Malaysia ’s search and rescue activities and stand ready for the mission, he added.
According to MRCC, a Malaysian 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.
Malaysia has sent low-range aircraft to conduct a search and rescue mission./.
