KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Tokyo dispatched a Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) team, yesterday, in response to Kuala Lumpur request to give assistance on the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370.
The Japan Embassy in Kuala lumpur said in a statement today that there was no decision made on JDR team about the specific scope of work and the dispatch period of the main unit.
However, it was expected that air assets provided by Japan Self-Defense Forces and Japan Coast Guard would be deployed to assist in rescue operations for the missing aircraft, it said.
According to the statement an advance team comprising eight officials of Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Defense Ministry, Coast Guard and International Cooperation Agency would arrive in Kuala lumpur after they departed yesterday.
On March 8, the Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 227 passengers and 12 crew members went off the radar at 1.30am, about an hour after taking off from the KL International Airport.
The search and rescue operation of MH370, involving Malaysia and foreign countries, had entered its fifth day, yet the fate of the passengers are still unknown as the aircraft has yet to be found. — Bernama
