ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said March 9 that he has instructed the Coast Guard Administration and Ministry of National Defense to assist in search and rescue efforts for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The unfolding incident is reason for deep concern, Ma said, adding that the Fisheries Agency has also been instructed to notify all Taiwan fishing boats in the area where the plane is believed to have disappeared to provide assistance.
Ma’s remarks were relayed by Presidential spokeswoman Lee Chia-fei in a statement.
CGA cutters Hsun Hu No. 7 and No. 9 steamed out of Kaohsiung Port in southern Taiwan March 10 bound for the sea area near Vietnam’s Ca Mau Province. Around the same time, ROC navy frigate Tian Dan departed Magong Harbor in outlying Penghu County, joined shortly afterwards by an air force C-130 Hercules cargo plane.
The Boeing 777-200, carrying 239 souls, lost communication with air traffic controllers March 8 during a 3,700-kilometer flight to Beijing from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. (YHC-JSM)
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