BEIJING — China has deployed 10 high-resolution satellites to sweep and survey the South China Sea to find leads that could help locate the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Times of India reported.
Quoting the People’s Liberation Army, the newspaper reported that China’s Xi’an Satellite Monitor and Control Centre has launched an emergency response for the search and adjusted up to 10 high-resolution satellites to locate the missing plane.
The missing flight had 154 Chinese nationals on board, out of a total passenger list of 239. The flight, which was bound for Beijing, left the Kuala Lumpur International Airport early on Saturday and went off the radar less than an hour later.
A delegation from China was despatched to Kuala Lumpur last night to assist Malaysia in the search for the missing plane and to provide assistance and comfort to the families of the missing Chinese passengers.
Citing the Centre, the army said the centre purged the original commands of several satellites to offer full services in weather monitoring, communication and other aspects for the search, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
As pressure mounted from the relatives of passengers, the Chinese government called on Malaysia to accelerate the search and dispatched a high-level team to Kuala Lumpur.
“We hope Malaysia can fully understand China, especially the mood of the Chinese passengers’ families and speed up investigation, search and rescue efforts,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.
“The missing plane belongs to the Malaysia Airlines, so it is reasonable that the Malaysian side takes the major responsibility for the search and rescue work,” Mr Qin said.
As there are more than 150 Chinese passengers on board, the Chinese government naturally takes a responsible attitude and has gone all-out to join in the process, he said.
Mr Qin said the top priority remains search and rescue. Naval vessels, coast guard, rescue ships and cargo ships dispatched by China are expected to arrive, or have arrived at the suspected waters.
Thirty four planes, 40 ships and teams from ten countries are involved in search operations that have been widened up to the Andaman Sea after radar data indicated the plane may have turned around to head back to Kuala Lumpur.
About the likelihood of militants from Xinjiang carrying out sabotage of the plane, he confirmed that no Chinese citizens’ passports were stolen, saying previous media reports were caused by the wrong passport numbers provided by Malaysia Airlines. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
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