Malaysia Airlines jet missing, 2 Canadians among 239 on board

Two Canadians are among 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board a Malaysia Airlines jet that lost contact with air traffic controllers two hours after taking off, an airline official said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are deeply saddened this morning with the news on MH370," said Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad JauhariYahya, reading from a statement several hours after the plane disappeared from radar screens. "Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 had lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2:40 a.m. today."

The flight was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The B777-200 aircraft left Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. local time and was expected to land at 6:30 a.m. in the Chinese capital the same day.

"There has been speculation that the aircraft has landed at Nanming," Yahya said. "We are working to verify the authenticity of the report and others."

Pham Hien, a Vietnamese search and rescue official, said the last signal from the plane detected by the aviation authority was 225 kilometres southwest of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province. Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam's civil aviation authority, said the plane was over the sea and bound for Vietnamese airspace but air traffic officials in the country were never able to make contact.

The plane "lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam's air traffic control," Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement issued by the government

Along with the two Canadians, the passenger list included 152 Chinese and one Chinese infant, and three Americans and one American infant.

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with those affected by the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370," Béatrice Fénelon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said. "We are working with local authorities to gather more information on the situation. We have received preliminary reports indicating that two Canadian citizens may be affected."

All countries in the possible flight path of the missing aircraft were performing a "communications and radio search," said John Andrews, deputy chief of the Philippines' civil aviation agency. Xinhua said China has dispatched two maritime rescue ships to the South China Sea to help in the search and rescue efforts.

The airline said it was calling the next of kin of passengers and crew. Next of kin were being directed to gather at a support facility at KualaLumpur International Airport.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," the airline said.

Although it would be hard to determine what conditions were like in the jet stream, CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said there was some haze on the ground in Vietnam and a few clouds.

"No major convective or thunderstorm activity at the time," she said.

Chinese state TV also reported there had not been any reports received about any aircraft crashing in Chinese waters.