Reports missing plane was tracked to the west unconfirmed

March 12, 2014 | 13:52

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Vietnamese authorities said they have not received any confirmation from the Malaysian government regarding a plane reportedly tracked by their military to their west, in the Strait of Malacca.

Search areas

On March 11, news spread that the missing Malaysian Airlines jetliner might have turned west, heading to Kota Baru, flying at a lower altitude to Malacca Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world.

However, the head of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said, "We haven't received any official information that says the plane made to Strait of Malacca. We'll ask for confirmation from Malaysian authorities. If the news is true then we'll halt search operations in Vietnam."

When asked whether Vietnam will provide labour and vehicles to aid in the search of the Strait of Malacca, he said that it would depend on Vietnam's capabilities and Malaysia's request.

Meanwhile, international media outlets have reported that the chief of Malaysia's air force, Rodzali Daud, denied stating their military radar had tracked the missing plane over the Strait of Malacca. According to him the military only suggested that the plane might have turned back.

Vietnam has sent two more helicopters, Marine Police Casa 212, on the fifth-day search in domestic waters. They also continued to widen the search area toward the east and west of where the aircraft first went missing.

Preparing to take off

Inside the Casa-212

"We covered 6,400 square km of land surrounding Tho Chu Island, but were unable to find anything. All captured images will be sent to the headquarters of Vietnam Marine Police," said colonel Nguyen Hoai Thuy, head of Casa-212 search team.

Today, March 12, Vietnamese search teams expanded the search area to the southern coast of Ca Mau and the Nam Con Son basin.

Dtinews

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