Venue change for SAR ops meetings

The Malaysian authorities engaged in the search-and-rescue (SAR) for a missing Malaysian airliner held a meeting Sunday at the Sama-Sama Hotel, their last at the hotel before moving over to the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

The media centre at the Sama-Sama Hotel has also been relocated to the PWTC as the hotel has been booked by those involved in the Formula One race at the Sepang International Circuit next weekend.

Today's meeting at the Sama-Sama Hotel was attended by representatives of the relevant parties, including Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the Department of Civil Aviation, the Transport Ministry and the Armed Forces.

Chief of Defence Forces Gen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, asked on an update as he left the meeting room at about 11 am, said: "Wait for the statement."

The Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board, disappeared about an hour after leaving the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8. It was scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

The fate of the passengers is unknown as the multi-national search for the aircraft, into its 16th today, has drawn a blank.

A search was mounted for the aircraft in the South China Sea but the area of the search was extended to cover a large tract west of Malaysia, including the Indian Ocean, when it was learned that the plane had veered off course after someone deliberately switched off the communication system on board and the

plane had flown for seven hours after that.

The search then focused on two corridors, namely the northern corridor which stretches from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and the southern corridor which stretches from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

The latest report, quoting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, said small pieces of debris, including a wooden pallet, were spotted by one of the search aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean.

Abbott was quoted as saying that it was too early to confirm their linkage to flight MH370.