Search for missing jet covers mountainous, forest areas
09:42, 2014/03/12
Massive search for the missing Malaysian plane will be expanded to scour mountainous and forest areas, said Lieut. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.
“We have informed units and localities on land, including Military Zones 5, 7 and 9, and localities in the western, southeastern and central regions to deploy forces to seek the plane,” Tuan said on March 11 while instructing the operation.
Units managing border areas were requested to increase coordination with Lao and Cambodian forces in searching border areas in their territories, he said.
Earlier, two hotlines were set up at the command office in Phu Quoc Island, southern Kien Giang province to promptly provide information relating to the search.
Deputy Minister of Transport Pham Quy Tieu told a press conference on Phu Quoc the same day that Vietnamese forces will continue the operation on a wider area.
Accordingly, the search will be expanded to the east of the initially suspected area, 277 kilometres from Tho Chu Island in Kien Giang province, and the south and west of Con Dao Island, 185 kilometres off the coast of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau .
Tieu urged the deployment of aircraft and naval ships for the operation, affirming that Vietnam will do its utmost to seek the missing jet.
He also asked Kien Giang province to continue calling for support from local fishermen and stand ready for working if any objects that appear to be from the plane are found.
Phu Quoc International Airport was requested to prepare all necessary human and material conditions for the rescue if necessary.
The naval ship HQ888 has examined waters off southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province without finding any fragments spotted by a Hong Kong commercial aircraft on March 10, according to the National Committee for Search and Rescue.
At 11 a.m on March 11, the VNRedsat-1 satellite passed over Tho Chu Island and captured images there for about an hour. The images will be then sent to the ground image processing centre late on the day.
In the morning of March 11, four aircraft took off to search for the Malaysian plane. Vietnam’s air force will continue to conduct a number of flights to suspected sites during the day, said Colonel Tran Van Lam, deputy head of Air Division 370.
Also in the morning, General Pham Van Tra, former Minister of National Defence, joined in instructing search forces.
The Boeing 777-200 plane operated by Malaysia Airlines left Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing at 00:41 a.m on March 8, and lost contact with authorities at around 1:30 a.m the same day.
The aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
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