SEPANG, March 9 — A battalion of 22 aircraft and 40 sea vessels have have banded together in a multi-nation military effort involving neighbouring Southeast Asian countries and the US in a race against time to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Chief of Malaysian Armed Forces General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said the authorities have also widened their search area to include the Straits of Malacca to the west as fears grow for the fate of the Beijing-bound jetliner and its 239 people onboard.
“As at last night, we have widened our search to the Straits of Malacca without reducing our resources in the east, the South China Sea,” he told a news conference here.
He said the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is providing 11 aircraft in the search, while the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seconded five aircraft, the police, one, and the navy, one helicopter.
Meanwhile, the US has provided one aircraft for the search and rescue operation, while Thailand and Singapore have deployed one and two airships each respectively.
The Malaysian navy has also provided 14 sea vessels, while the MMEA has provided 13 ships. Foreign vessels include five from Indonesia, three from Singapore, three from China, one from Thailand and one from the US Navy.
Zulkifeli also pointed out that the number of assets does not include the ships and aircraft deployed by Vietnam to conduct search operations in its waters.
The rescue team expanded its search scope today after it was discovered that the Boeing B777-200 aircraft may have been forced to turn around in mid-flight.
