More expert help coming to assist in finding missing plane, says Hishammuddin

Hishammuddin says that there has been no conflicting statements from the government, despite the confusion over what has been reported so far. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, March 12, 2014.
 Amid mounting international criticism, Putrajaya today said they are bringing in more experts to help in the search and rescue operations of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"We are bringing in experts to analyse data gathered by the military and civilian investigators from the west and the east, including the US NTSB," said Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, referring to the United States National Transportation Safety Board.

He said the search for the missing flight is now focused in the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, covering 27,000 square nautical miles.

He said in a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport this evening that 39 aircraft and 42 ships from 12 countries are scouring these areas in the search, which is in its fifth day.

Hishammuddin also stressed that the government has been consistent in what they have been saying.

He said the prime minister had said that the search area will be expanded and that is what they are doing now.

"We will not spare any effort to find the missing plane. The search has been extended to two areas and we are now searching nearly 27,000 square nautical miles – 12,425 square nautical miles in the Strait of Malacca and 14,440 square nautical miles in the South China Sea.

"Forty-two ships and 39 aircraft have now been deployed in the search for MH370. Twelve countries have now joined the search, with India, Japan and Brunei being the latest to join the team," he said.

Hishammuddin said no new leads have turned up in the search for the missing aircraft with 239 people on board, and warned that the race to find out what happened to the plane could be a protracted affair.

"It's going to be long, drawn out," Hishamuddin told The Wall Street Journal in brief remarks.

He also said that the main focus is to find the aircraft and the black box which can help in answering lots of questions.

Denying speculation that Malaysia might be hiding some information due to the lack of clarity and coordination in the search and rescue effort, the minister said coordinating such a large team is not an easy task.

“This is unprecedented what we are going through, it is not something easy to coordinate so many countries and so many vessels. This search also includes a vast area,” Hishammuddin said.

He said the search and rescue team will never give up hope, adding “we owe this to the families”.

With the continuous criticism, especially coming from China, Hishammuddin said it was understandable as there are many Chinese nationals onboard flight MH370.

“China feels aggrieved because so many of their nationals are involved. It is also natural, as time passes, it will involve a lot of emotion and frustration. But it will not distract from our main focus of finding the missing plane,” he said.

Flight MH370 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members disappeared from the radar early Saturday morning.

Of the total number of passengers, 153 were from China. The other passengers include 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, seven Australians, five Indian nationals and four from France.

The aircraft was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it disappeared. – March 12, 2014.