KUALA LUMPUR: The search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is well into the fifth day. But instead of a concerted and logical response, criticism is mounting that the search and rescue exercise is in disarray.
For some vague reason the search has now made a big U-turn and is now in the Andaman Sea.
Vietnam fed-up with Malaysia’s information, or rather misinformation, has suspended air search and scaled back its sea operations.
“We’ve decided to temporarily suspend some search and rescue activities, pending information from Malaysia,” Vietnam deputy minister of transport Pham Quy Tieu said.
“We’ve decided to temporarily suspending some search and rescue activities, pending information from Malaysia,” he added.
“We’ve asked Malaysian authorities twice, but so far they have not replied to us,” Tieu said when asked about a media report that the plane had been detected over the Strait of Malacca.
Malaysian ministers and aviation authorities’ incomplete and contradictory information have angered relatives waiting for news of their loved ones as well.
The officials hold at least three press conferences every day and their incomplete answers have also infuriated the world media.
The DCA chief has gone on record as saying: “We are not going to leave any chance. We have to look at every possibility,”
But he did not indicate that the move to expand the search hundreds of kilometers was not based on any firm indications that the plane might be there.
With this shift, the perception of official bungling is more grounded.
As a result, the social media has now turned from sympathy for the familes to anger over the search.
The search operation grew to involve 42 ships and 35 aircraft as of Tuesday, from Southeast Asian countries, Australia, China, New Zealand and the United States.
China, which had 153 of its nationals on board the plane, said it would harness 10 satellites equipped with high-resolution imaging to help in the search.
Boeing said it was joining a US government team to try to unravel the mystery of what happened to its 777-200 plane.
