MH370: Malaysian high-level team meets family members

A high-level team from Malaysia met with family members of Flight MH370 passengers here Friday to brief them on the situation and search-and-rescue (SAR) operations.

Led by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Air Operations Commander Leftenant General Datuk Seri Ackbal Abdul Samad, the team included representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

In his briefing Ackbal said immediate action to locate the missing MAS jetliner had been carried out from the very beginning. He said that the Malaysian government always placed the lives of passengers on board Flight MH370 above anything and they had been trying their best to locate the aircraft.

"This include gathering subject matter experts to estimate the speed of the aircraft with a lot of things to be taken into consideration," he said, adding that the process took time.

Malaysian ambassador to China, Datuk Iskandar Sarudin was present.

The Beijing-bound aircraft, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared about an hour after departing the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8.

It was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day.