Ho Chi Minh City, March 8 (IANS): A Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing Saturday with 239 people on board has crashed into the waters off Vietnam, Xinhua reported quoting a Vietnamese newspaper.
According to the report, the crash was confirmed by Rear Admiral Ngo Van Phat, political commissar of the Fifth Naval Region of Vietnam.
Earlier Saturday, China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) had confirmed the B777-200 aircraft carrying 239 people, including 12 crew members and 160 Chinese passengers, had gone missing.
Flight MH370 departed from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur early Saturday and was expected to land in Beijing the same day, Xinhua quoted Malaysia Airlines as saying.
The flight had lost contact with ground control when flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam, authorities said.
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