The Malaysian Insider – 39 minutes agoRELATED CONTENT
- Families hold vigil at KLIA, awaiting news on missing MAS flight
Distraught family members of those on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are holding on to the hope that their loved ones are safe.
One of those gathered at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to wait for the latest development is news portal Ant Daily employee Lokman Mustafa, 40, whose brother, Suhaili, 31, was among those on the flight bound for Beijing.
"He was in a flight with 15 of his colleagues. They were going to be in Beijing for a month to look into setting up a factory there. He lives with my mother," said Lokman.
Suhaili is an executive with a semiconductor company.
Lokman said Suhaili had brought boxes of instant noodles and some other local food to tide him over during his stay in China.
"I lost one family member while there are those who lost four of their family members at one time. You should interview them not me," he said, trying to evade more questions from the media as he rushed to the elevator heading to the car park.
Lokman said he was rushing home to get his passport and other documents as MAS will be taking the next-of-kin to the site once the plane is found.
Putih Idris from Kajang said her daughter-in-law Nor Fadzillah Md Rahim, 37, was on the flight.
She said she was notified of the incident about 9am when MAS called her house.
"I am not going to the site but a few others are going," she said.
At least 10 to 12 family members and friends of the victims were seen leaving the holding bay.
Some refused to comment while others said their family and friends were onboard but declined to reveal their names.
The next-of-kin of passengers and crew members have been told to standby at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a valid international passport.
Two members of each passenger will be allowed to go on the special flight to Vietnam although the destination has yet to be decided.
Information is slowly trickling in but the exact location of the plane has yet to be ascertained.
DCA and Malaysia Airlines representatives have said that this was only applicable to family members and not members of the media.
The authorities begun search and rescue operations for flight MH370 soon after the Beijing-bound plane lost contact with air traffic controllers this morning.
MAS said flight MH370 lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am.
The B777-200 aircraft left the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41am and was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am.
The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including two infants) and 12 crew members. – March 8, 2014.
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