BEIJING: A Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew crashed in the South China Sea on Saturday, while it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
A senior naval official Admiral Ngo Van Phat was quoted as saying by the Vietnamese state media that he had asked boats from an island off South Vietnam to rush to the crash site.
The state television reported that China also sent two maritime rescue ships to the South China Sea to help in any rescue.
However, Malaysia Airlines had yet to confirm that the aircraft had crashed. Earlier‚ it said the plane had disappeared after taking off and lost contact with the control tower.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed shock and grief over the loss of human lives in the ill-fated Malaysian airliner.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 Passenger Manifest— Name–Age and Nationality