Australia to join search of missing Malaysian plane

MELBOURNE -- Australian air force will send two P-3C aircraft to join the multinational search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the local AAP news service said Sunday.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country would like to assist the search during a phone talk with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak Sunday and the latter accepted the offer, said the report.

The first RAAF P-3C long-range maritime surveillance aircraft would leave for the search from Australia's northern city of Darwin Sunday night.

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

However, the plane lost its contact with air traffic controllers, along with its radar signal, when it was flying over Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control area in Vietnam.

The aircraft was carrying 12 Malaysian flight crew members and 227 passengers from 14 countries, including 154 from China and six from Australia.