KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — News that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 “disappeared” broke as we started work on Saturday morning around seven.

Since then, our entire focus has been on the missing MH370. My colleagues are covering press conferences, scouring foreign news sources, working the phones and two of them are actually in Vietnam trying to find out more about search and rescue operations.

Today is the third day we are doing this and while it has been frustrating trying to piece together the disparate pieces of information, it must be a thousand times more painful for the families of the missing passengers.

For them, this is not about a story. It is about finding out what happened to the ones they cherish.

So what have we learned so far:

1. Malaysia has friends. Each time it is announced that yet another country has sent airplanes or ships to join in the search and rescue operations, you cannot help but feel touched. Vietnam, China, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and the United States of America. Thank you all.

2. The staff of MAS are pretty amazing. There has been quite a lot of MAS bashing going on in social media, but the hardest part of the job for many of the staff is dealing with the families of missing passengers.

These are emotional times and there has been instances staff were abused verbally and physically. And yet 93 of them including Firefly CEO Ignatius Ong — all Mandarin-speaking — volunteered to fly to Beijing to help with families of passengers over there. Yes, volunteered.

3. We stand together. In empathy with all the families out there struggling with their grief. Hoping for good news. Any news.

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Paduka Rosmah Mansor have visited the families and offered support. And Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein even calmed down some distraught family members today when things got a little tense and heated.

The days ahead are going to be long and difficult but we want all those families to know they are not alone.