Nepal

Nepal and Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing on Saturday, 8 March 2014.

On Saturday, 15 March 2014 the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak revealed in a Press Statement on MH370 that based on new satellite data, "the aviation authorities of Malaysia and their international counterparts have determined that the plane’s last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors: a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian ocean".

On Monday, 17 March 2014 Hishammuddin Hussein, Minister of Defence and Acting Minister of Transport (Malaysia) stated:-

In the last 24 hours, the Prime Minister has spoken to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the President of Turkmenistan, the President of Kazakhstan and Prime Minister of India.

Yesterday the Foreign Ministry of Malaysia briefed representatives from countries along the northern and southern corridors.

At 2pm today, the Foreign Ministry of Malaysia briefed representatives from 22 countries, including those along the northern and southern search corridors, as well other countries that may be able to help. These include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.

Malaysian officials are requesting support from these countries – as well as others. This support includes general satellite data, radar playback – both primary and secondary – provisions for ground, sea and aerial search, and assets as appropriate.

We are currently discussing with all partners how best to deploy assets along the two search corridors. At this stage, both the northern and southern corridors are being treated with equal importance.

We are asking countries that have satellite assets, including the US, China and France amongst others, to provide further satellite data. And we are contacting additional countries who may be able to contribute specific assets relevant to the search and rescue operation. Surveillance aircraft are required, and maritime vessels are needed, particularly for the southern corridor.

The Chief of the Defence Force (Malaysia) spoke to his counterparts from many countries including Nepal.

A graphic depicting the 'northern corridor' and additional information is shown below.

 

Figure III : Northern Corridor
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt

Explanation of the Grid

In the northern corridor, we have divided the search area into seven quadrants. Each of the seven quadrants is 400 nautical miles by 400 nautical miles – or 160,000 square nautical miles in total.

Diplomatic Notes

Diplomatic Notes were sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia (MOFA) to all the relevant countries within the corridors on a government to government basis.

Countries leading search in Northern Corridor

In the northern corridor, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to lead in the search areas closest to their countries.

Feedback from Diplomatic Notes

In the northern corridor, in response to diplomatic notes, we can confirm that China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have verbally informed the search and rescue operation that based on preliminary analysis, there have been no sightings of the aircraft on their radar.

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An area stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand. See Najib's Statement 15 March 2014

An area stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian ocean. See Najib's Statement 15 March 2014

Minister of Defence and Acting Minister of Transport (Malaysia)

An area stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand. See Najib's Statement 15 March 2014

This paper was presented by Malaysia to the Third Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Regional Search and Rescue Task Force (APSAR/TF/3), Maldives, 25 – 29 January 2015. More Info

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