Flight MH370 live: Updates after different Malaysia Airlines plane forced to make emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur

 

  

6:07 am

Relatives of the passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have 'expressed dissatisfaction' with a meeting with Malaysian authorities in which financial compensation was discussed.
In a statement, relatives said that until "at least a tiny bit of concrete evidence" that the plane crashed is found, authorities should not try to settle the case with final pay-offs.
"No meaningful report on the progress of the investigation was given" at the meeting, the relatives said, adding that "not a single one" of their questions was answered.

5:13 am

An international team hunting for missing Flight MH370 is trawling the last third of a search zone for wreckage after an unmanned submarine failed to find traces of the aircraft.
The Bluefin-21 which bounces sound waves off the Indian Ocean floor to create images of the seabed, has scoured two-thirds of the targeted area without establishing any “contacts of interest,” according to the Australian agency coordinating the effort.
The submarine is currently completing its ninth mission, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said in an e-mailed statement today.

4:10 am

The air search for MH370 has been suspended for today due to bad weather as a result of Tropical Cyclone Jack.

“It has been determined that the current weather conditions are resulting in heavy seas and poor visibility, and would make any air search activities ineffective and potentially hazardous,” the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

Up to 10 military aircraft were part of today's visual search about 1,500km (932 miles) north west of Perth, Australia.

The 10 ships involved in today's search will continue their planned activities.

3:18 am

The partner of an American passenger on board missing Flight MH370 has questioned the satellite data analysis which concluded the plane ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Sara Bacj, whose partner Philip Wood was one of the 239 on board MH370, wants an explanation from the Malaysian government on why it went with the analysis by British satellite company Inmarsat.
She said: "They have failed to share why they would accept a single source (Inmarsat) for analysis utilising a never-before-attempted method, as their sole grounds for determining that the plane is under the water and all lives lost."

2:27 am

Rapper Pitbull predicted that Flight MH370 would go missing two YEARS ago, it has been suggested.
Conspiracy theorists have been drawing comparisons between the lyrics of his 2012 track Get It Started and the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the plane on March 8.
Lines in the song, which features a guest appearance from Colombian singer Shakira, include: "Now it's off to Malaysia" and "Two passports, three cities, two countries, one day."
Viewers on YouTube are convinced the two passports is a reference to the stolen Austrian and Italian passports used by two Iranians to board MH370.
They also believe the three cities refer to the capital cities of Malaysia, China and Vietnam and the two countries are Malaysia and Vietnam.
Furthermore, they assert the lyrics "No Ali, No Frasier, but for now off to Malaysia" are a reference to Mr Ali, the man who bought tickets for the two Iranians to travel on board MH370.
There has reportedly been tension between Malaysian officials and relatives of the Chinese passengers on board missing Flight MH370 after a diplomat suggested the Malaysian government had decided to "move forward with the next step".

Many of the relatives are said to have flown into a rage when they became convinced that Malaysia's intention was to issue death certificates, dispense compensation and compel them to leave Beijing, where they have been staying for 45 days. 

In the heated meeting, the Malaysian Embassy's deputy chief of mission Bala Chandran Tharman told some 500 relatives that another team of Malaysian officials and MAS staff would arrive in Beijing by tomorrow to discuss this "next step" with them.

He provided no details.

"We will never accept this until they have found the plane," family representative Steve Wang told The Straits Times.

"If the plane is found, we will go home.

"When the truth is out, we will go home.

"How long we stay here is not up to us, it's up to them."

12:37 am

Up to 10 military aircraft will take part in today's search for missing Flight MH370.
Ten ships will also be involved.
The submersible craft Bluefin is currently undertaking mission nine in the underwater search area.

11:40 pm

The search effort for missing Flight MH370 is set to receive a boost, according to Australian breakfast TV show Today.

A post from the show on Twitter read: "The Australian search effort for #MH370 could soon be boosted, with authorities asking for more marine search equipment. #Today9."

 

10:43 pm

It is also been reported that Malaysian officials are now willing to enter into discussions about offering financial assistance to relatives of those on-board the missing plane.
The issuing of the death certificates is likely to be an extremely sensitive moment, with many relatives furious with the Malaysian government and unwilling to believe its version of events.
 

9:50 pm

 Hamid Ramlan's daughter and new son-in-law were on Flight MH370 when it went missing.
He told CNN how his family is struggling to accept that the plane just disappeared.
He said: "My wife cannot accept that. She still believes that the plane was hijacked and she believes that my daughter is still alive."

9:40 pm

Some breaking news now coming out of Malaysia.
The authorities in the country are to issue death certificates for passengers on-board Flight MH370 46 days after it became lost, CNN is reporting.
This is significant because it will open the door to financial aid for families and also allow any potential lawsuits to begin.

6:57 pm

Clearly, the Malaysian authorities are desperate that the plane is found soon.
Acting Transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: "I appeal to everybody around the world to pray and pray hard that we find something to work on over the next couple of days."
As reported by CNN, he added that the search "is at a critical juncture."

4:00 pm

For the families on-board Flight MH370, it is obviously an incredibly distressing time.
Nur Laila Ngah's husband Wan Swaid Ismail was a cabin crew member on-board the flight.
Speaking to CNN, she said: "Emotionally, it's up and down. You know? Sometimes, I'm OK. Sometimes, so-so. Sometimes,  always,  very sad."

1:16 pm

More on the suggestion that the current search area maybe the wrong location - as the underwater phase of the investigation has so far yielded nothing.
The New Straits Times quotes an official from the International Investigation Team (IIT) based in Kuala Lumpur as saying they may move on from the existing location soon.

They reportedly said: "We can't focus on one place too long as the ocean is very big, although the search team has been following the leads received and analysed.

"It is by luck if we find the wreckage using the Bluefin 21... there is no physical evidence and we are totally depending on scientific calculations from day one including from the pings."

12:27 pm

Families of the people on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been further angered today by the postponement of an important meeting.
The relatives of the missing 239 passengers and crew were scheduled to speak to Malaysian 'tech experts' today about the ongoing search.
But that meeting has now been cancelled.
Families of those missing, feared dead, are already unhappy at what they perceive is the authorities withholding information.
And their grief was brought into sharp focus again earlier today when the Malaysian government decided to issue death certificates for passengers of the missing Flight MH370 - NBC News reported.

11:21 am

Here's more on reports that sabotage will be explored as a possible reason behind the emergency landing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH192.
The plane had to turn back and land at the Malaysian capital's airport when it suffered damage to its landing gear.
It landed three hours after take-off and acting transport minister Hishammudin Hussein ordered police to look into the possibility of sabotage.
He said: "These sort of incidents should not happen. I have directed that although [Malaysia Airlines] is under Khazana [Malaysia's commercial department], the ministry should be given the report as soon as possible.

"I give them two days. On Wednesday, I want to see an early report as this is not something like MH370 that is missing in the Indian Ocean, it is related to the condition of the tyres." Daily Mirror