A Boeing 777-200 passengers jet en route Kaula Lumpar to Benjing has gone missing
The Malaysia Airways plane which had aboard 239 person lost communication with air traffic controllers late Friday.
Flight MH370 took off at 12.41am local time on Saturday from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and was due to land in Beijing, China, at 6.05am the same day.
Those aboard the missing plane includes two infants and 12 crew members.
There were 13 different nationalities on board.
Malaysian Airways confirmed the plane had lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am (SAT) local time – or 6.40pm (FRI) around 120 miles off Kota Bharu over the South China Sea.
The airline said in a statement: “Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.
“The airline will provide regular updates on the situation.”
A weather map of the area where the plane was last reported did not show any storm activity.
Well-wishers and worried relatives left almost 4,000 comments on the airline’s Facebook page.
Brian Hong wrote: “Let’s pray for the safety of the passengers & crew members.”
A website had earlier listed the flight as landed, but this was before the airline’s statement.
The operator has said it will provide regular updates via its Facebook page.
“We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370,” the airline’s chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement on Facebook.
“Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft,” Yahya said.
“Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.”
The plane did not enter Chinese air space and is thought to have lost contact over Vietnam.
Chinese officials say there were 160 Chinese nationals on board.