China Launches Land Search for Missing Malaysian Plane
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - China began searching for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on its own territory, state media said on Tuesday, as the international search continues.
Authorities launched search and rescue operations within Chinese territory, which covers the northern corridor through which the aircraft could have flown, official news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang as saying.
The Malaysia Airlines jet went missing on 8th March carrying 239 passengers and crew, with two thirds of those on board being Chinese citizens, AFP reported.
Malaysian police say they are investigating the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board, but have yet to give any update on what they have uncovered.
The Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang said to Xinhua that there was no evidence to suggest that the mainland Chinese passengers on the plane were involved in hijacking or launching a terror attack.
Eleven days after contact was lost with Flight 370, there has been little progress in determining what transpired when the Boeing 777 was intentionally diverted off its flight path and where it might have gone.
Meanwile, Australia, which is leading the southernmost leg of the search, said aircraft had made two sweeps of the southern corridor so far, and would make another sweep later on Tuesday.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) added that its search field had been sharply reduced from 19 million sq km to a 600,000 sq km (230,000 sq mile) corridor in the southern Indian Ocean, based on analysis of satellite data collected from the plane by the United States National Transportation Safety Board.
