#PrayForMH370 Update: Malaysia Airlines Missing Craft And Its 239 Passengers Spark Prayers Worldwide, 'We Have No Idea Where The Aircraft Is,' Says Official

There's still no concrete news about the whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which mysteriously disappeared last Saturday. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur and the destination should have been Beijing.

"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," says Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji.

The 239 passengers including 12 crew members and 2 infants come from different countries: 154 from China and Taiwan, 38 from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, 7 from Australia, 4 from the United States, 3 from France, 2 from Ukraine, 2 from Canada, 2 from Russia, 1 from Italy, 1 from Netherlands, and 1 from Austria.

Several efforts have been executed to track the missing flight. Planes and naval boats are being used to search for clues that might lead to the aircraft's location. The Chinese embassy in Malaysia has likewise formed an emergency team for the incident.

As per the Malaysian Airlines website, the flight was piloted by 53-year-old Malaysian Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah. He's been with the airlines since 1981 and has currently 18,365 flying hours total. His first officer is 27-year-old Fariq Ab. Hamid whose flying hours total to 2,763.

Authorities remain clueless as to what really took place during the flight. Since the aircraft is equipped with radar and radios, the pilot would have ample time to issue a distress call if the aircraft was experiencing mechanical failures.


"The lack of communications suggests to me that something most unfortunate has happened. But that, of course, does not mean that there are not many persons that need to be rescued and secured. There's still a very urgent need to find that plane and to render aid," said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a conversation with CNN International.

The families of the passengers remain hopeful for any news about their loved ones.

"I think what everybody wants is closure. We all want to know what happened. Did someone do something bad or was it an accident?" said James Wood, brother of American passenger Philip Wood.

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world news
Malaysia Airlines
MH370
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