China dispatches ship to Strait of Malacca to search for missing Malaysian plane

China dispatched a ship to the Strait of Malacca to search for a missing Malaysian plane with 239 people on board following speculation that the aircraft may have headed towards Andaman islands.

Beijing: China on Friday dispatched a ship to the Strait of Malacca to search for a missing Malaysian plane with 239 people on board following speculation that the aircraft may have headed towards Andaman islands. Located between Malaysia and Indonesia`s North Sumatra, the Strait of Malacca extends to the Andaman Sea.

China so far has focused its search operations only on South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean in its five-day long operations to locate the plane. The patrol ship Haixun 31 left the waters around the Gulf of Thailand for the Strait after searching over 60,000 square km for more than 120 hours without finding any sign of the aircraft, the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre said. Eight Chinese vessels had searched 63,187 square kilometres of the sea`s surface but without success, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomed India`s participation in the multinational hunt to solve one of the biggest mystery in aviation history. Chinese commercial vessels have been instructed to take note while passing through the Strait of Malacca to adjust their route to the western area which is reported by the Malaysian side, Hong said. China is anxious for a quick breakthrough in the search as 154 of the 239 crew and passengers are Chinese. Five of the passengers are from India. Hong said eight Chinese vessels, three aircraft and five helicopters had been focused on the South China Sea area based on the initial information that the plane went missing on March 8 in Vietnam. As the latest investigations pointed to new possibilities that the plane might have turned back and flew over the Strait of Malacca Strait and towards Andaman Islands, Malaysia requested India to join search operations. India has deployed four warships along with six aircraft including the latest special surveillance P-8I plane and three helicopters under the `Operation Searchlight`. Hong said China has also dispatched one of its search vessels to the location where a Chinese satellite identified three floating objects which possibly could be that of missing aircraft. Malaysia and Vietnam discounted the possibility after carrying out flying missions over the areas.