Search for missing Malaysian Air flight intensifies

The hunt for the missing Malaysian Air jetliner intensified as daylight bathed a search area off the Vietnamese coast Sunday morning. Ships searched overnight for the Boeing 777 jumbo jet carrying 239 passengers and crew on a flight bound for Beijing from Kaula Lumpur. An air search over the South China Sea resumed Sunday after it was suspended at nightfall Saturday. An area off the southern tip of Vietnam is the focus after two large oil slicks were spotted. No wreckage has been found. Three Americans were aboard the flight. Austin TV station KVUE reported one of the missing is Philip Wood, 50, from Roanoke, TX. A LinkedIn profile says he is an IBM executive in Malaysia. Freescale Semiconductor, an Austin-based tech company, said 20 employees from China and Malaysia were on board. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event," said CEO Gregg Lowe. Vietnamese Air Force planes Saturday located the oil slicks, each 6 to 9 miles long, about 80 miles south of the island of Tho Chu in the Gulf of Thailand. The slicks were located about one-third of a mile apart and are consistent with those from a crashed jetliner, the Vietnamese government said on its website. Malaysia sent nine ships and 15 ships to search waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. The Philippines dispatched three Navy ships and a surveillance plane. China sent two ships. A U.S. Navy destroyer equipped with two helicopers is also assisting the operation. What caused the plane to disappear remains a mystery. There's also no explanation yet for the identity of two passengers listed on the flight manifest whose passports were stolen in 2013 and 2012. The Italian Foreign Ministry said Luigi Maraldi, an Italian national, was traveling in Thailand and not on the flight. He contacted his parents after the flight went missing. Marald reported a stolen passport last August. Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss said a name listed on the manifest matches an Austrian passport stolen two years ago. Weiss would not confirm the identity. Asked whether terrorism was suspected, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said authorities were "looking at all possibilities, but it is too early to make any conclusive remarks."

News Source: World