Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on March 8 phoned his Malaysian counterpart Dato Sri Anifah Hj Aman over the missing of Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200 ER with 239 people on board.

Minh expressed and shared his deep concern about the incident with the Government and people of Malaysia, as well as a number of regional countries and families of passengers on the flight.

He said on hearing the news, the Vietnamese Prime Minister immediately asked relevant Vietnamese agencies to verify information and deploy forces to join search and rescue efforts.

Relevant Vietnamese agencies are trying their best to search for the missing plane, he said.

Minister Dato Sri Anifah Hj Aman thanked the government and people of Vietnam for the immediate assistance.

The Malaysian Boeing 777-200 left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at midnight on March 7 and lost contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control over Malaysian waters, 120 nautical miles southwest of Vietnam’s Ca Mau cape and 25 nautical miles south of the Vietnam-Malaysia overlapping sea borderline. 

Vietnam concerned about missing Malaysian plane

Vietnam is deeply concerned about the missing Malaysian plane and sympathises with the plight of the families and relatives of passengers on board.

The statement was made by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh on March 8 when answering reporters’ queries on Vietnam’s response to the missing of the Malaysian Airlines’ aircraft as it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Immediately after receiving the information, Vietnam proactively coordinated with concerned parties to verify the facts and deploy search and rescue measures, he said.