Nothing suggests terrorism in missing flight: airline

Developments in 24 hours on the missing Malaysia plane

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- No information has been confirmed so far to suggest terrorism is behind the loss of contact with Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, still unlocated as of Sunday evening, said the carrier in Beijing.

Information currently available shows that the provided passenger list matches booking information for the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, said Ignatius Ong Ming Choy, representative of Malaysia Airlines, at a press conference.

As of 18:00 Sunday, the flight has been out of touch for over 38 hours, and search and rescue work for the missing jet is under way.

More than 100 relatives of the Chinese passengers on board have been anxiously waiting for information at a hotel that Malaysia Airlines has asked them to gather at in Beijing.

The company has informed the relatives that if they want to go to Malaysia, it will make efforts to assist them, said Ong.

He added that Malaysia Airlines has started to arrange for the first batch of relatives to set out for Malaysia.

The carrier has communicated with the Malaysian and Chinese government to assist the relatives to go to Malaysia. The departure time is expected to be Monday at the soonest if their passports and visas can be handled smoothly, Ong said.

For those already holding passports, the airline has negotiated with Malaysian authorities to accelerate the visa application procedures, he added.

Only two direct relatives of each passenger will be allowed on the first flight to Malaysia due to limited seat numbers.

Despite continuing search efforts from Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States and China, the plane's whereabouts have not been ascertained thus far. Ong said the airline has told passengers' families to "prepare for the worst result" and has drafted in a group of disaster relief experts from Atlanta in case of the possible worst situation.

According to the latest announcement, the airline has set up emergency response command centers in Kota Kinabalu city of Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam.

Ong promised the centers would be immediately initiated to support rescue operations as the next step as soon as the plane is located, and vowed that the centers will meet all the needs of family members.

The airline will continue to cooperate with marine rescue forces from related sides including Singapore and Vietnam, he added.

A Boeing 777-200 aircraft operated by Malaysia Airlines left Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing at 12:41 Saturday.

Contact with the plane along with its radar signal was lost at 13:20 Saturday when it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

The aircraft was carrying 12 Malaysian flight crew and 227 passengers including 154 Chinese.

Shock and fear for lost Malaysia plane	Malaysia Airlines holds press conference in Beijing

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No sight of missing plane

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