SEPANG, March 8 — The past 18 hours went by in a blur for Ahmad Nazmi Rosli, as he and his family rushed to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Ipoh with no knowledge of what happened to their relatives on flight MH370.
All they had to work with was a phone call from Malaysia Airlines (MAS), asking them to make the three-hour drive to the airport as they wait for more news of the missing plane.
“I really don’t know anything. We just came in from Ipoh. Everything is just a blur,” the 32-year-old told reporters before heading to the viewing platform at KLIA where concerned family members of the 38 Malaysians on board the plane have gathered.
“Of course I’m shocked, the whole country is shocked, especially with MAS’ good safety record... I don’t know what to say. There are just a lot of mixed feelings,” he added.
On the flight are his brother’s wife, Dina Ramli, her sister Maria and their mother who Ahmad Nazmi identified as Datin Bibi.
The three are among the 239 passengers and crew aboard the MAS’ Boeing B777-200 that dropped off the Subang control tower’s radars at around 1.30am.
MAS officials said they were informed of the missing plane an hour later at around 2.40am, but authorities could only launch a search and rescue team at first light as it was too dark and they also needed help from their counterparts in neighbouring countries.
The situation has not been helped by conflicting reports, first claiming that it crash landed at Nanning, China and later Vietnamese media quoted their Navy chief as claiming that the plane had crashed into the waters of the Gulf of Thailand.
Ahmad Nazmi’s sister, Noor Nazirah, said it has been a nerve-wracking time for the family as the lack of information on the plane’s status leaves them with nothing but prayers to keep them going.
“We are just praying to God... we just want to know where they are,” she said, in between sobs.
Aviation experts from around the world have expressed shock over the disappearance of the plane, with many calling the Boeing 777 possibly the safest plane in the world.
It is understood that the authorities have now brought the family members gathered at KLIA to a hotel in Putrajaya, where they will wait for confirmation of the plane’s whereabouts.
