This picture taken from aboard a flying Soviet-made AN-26 used as a search aircraft by Vietnamese Air Force to look for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shows a crew member taking part in the search operations over the southern seas off Vietnam. AFP PHOTO / HOANG DINH NAM
By Terry Fredrickson
Searchers were back in action early this morning trying to find the location of a Malaysian passenger jet that vanished en route to Beijing with 239 people aboard. We will be following the story throughout the day.
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Vietnam spots possible wreckage from Malaysian plane
A woman (C) thought to be a relative of a passenger of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight cries at a hotel in Beijing on March 9, 2014. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared about an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur en route to the Chinese capital. A total of 153 Chinese nationals were on board, and anguished relatives camped out at Beijing airport bemoaned the lack of news. AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO
HO CHI MINH CITY, AFP – Vietnamese searchers on Sunday spotted possible aircraft debris after combing the sea for nearly 48 hours in the hunt for a Malaysian passenger jet that vanished with 239 people aboard, officials said.
The discovery, which could confirm the worst fears of anguished relatives, came after Malaysia's government launched a terror probe into the Boeing 777's disappearance, investigating suspect passengers who boarded with stolen passports.
"We received information from a Vietnamese plane saying that they found two broken objects, which seem like those of an aircraft, located about 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the southwest of Tho Chu Island," said an official from Vietnam's National Committee for Search and Rescue, who did not want to be named.
The island is part of a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Vietnam, and lies northeast of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, from where Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 left early Saturday bound for Beijing.
"As it is night they cannot fish them out for proper identification. They have located the position of the areas and flown back to land," the Vietnamese official added.
Planes and boats would be sent back to the area Monday to investigate further, he said.
Two large oil slicks which authorities suspect were caused by jet fuel were detected late Saturday farther south of the island chain, and observed later by an AFP journalist aboard a Vietnamese spotter plane.
Both MAS and Malaysia's civil aviation authority, however, said they had no new information to offer after the apparent Vietnamese discovery.
In Phuket yesterday, Luigi Maraldi, whose name was on the passenger list of the Malaysian air flight, shows he is very much alive. His passport was stolen on the island two years ago and he was issued a new one later. ACHADTAYA CHUENNIRAN
The plane, captained by a veteran MAS pilot, had relayed no indications of distress, and weather at the time was said to be stable.
A total of 40 ships and 34 aircraft from an array of Southeast Asian countries, China and the US have been involved in the search, with two Australian surveillance aircraft due to join in.
Earlier, Malaysian Military radar indicated that the missing aircraft might have turned back before vanishing.
"There is a distinct possibility the airplane did a turn-back, deviating from the course," said Malaysia's air force chief, General Rodzali Daud, citing radar data.
But MAS chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the Boeing 777's systems would have set off alarm bells in that case.
"When there is an air turn-back the pilot would be unable to proceed as planned," he said, adding authorities were "quite puzzled" over the situation.
After it emerged that two people boarded the flight with stolen European passports, Malaysia's transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he was looking at four suspect passengers in all.
He said authorities were examining CCTV footage of the two with fake passports.
"We have managed to get visuals of them," he said, adding that Malaysia was liaising with other countries' intelligence agencies on the findings. He gave no more details.
Two European names – Christian Kozel, an Austrian, and Luigi Maraldi of Italy – were listed on the passenger manifest. But neither man boarded the plane, officials said. Both had their passports stolen in Thailand over the past two years.
Thai police said Sunday they were investigating a possible passport racket as flight information seen by AFP gave new details about bookings made in Thailand with the two stolen European passports.
The tickets booked in Maraldi and Kozel's names were made on March 6, 2014 and issued in the Thai city of Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of Bangkok.
Vocabulary
aboard: on a boat or airplane -
advisor: a person who gives advice, especially somebody who knows a lot about a particular subject - ที่ปรึกษา
alarm: a loud noise or a signal that warns people of danger or of a problem - สัญญาณเตือนภัย
altitude: height above sea level - ความสูงเหนือระดับน้ำทะเล
analyse: to examine the nature or structure of something, especially by separating it into its parts, in order to understand or explain it - วิเคราะห์, ศึกษา, ตรวจสอบ
anguished: feeling painful emotions - ทรมาณทางจิตใจ
annual: happening every year - ทุกๆปีด, ประจำปี
apparent: seeming to be something although it may not be real - ดูเหมือนว่า, ตามที่เห็นภายนอก
archipelago: a group of small islands or an area of sea in which there are many small islands - ทะเลบริเวณที่มีหมู่เกาะ
array: a group or collection of things or people, often one that is large or impressive - การจัดเรียง, ขบวน
assistance: help; aid - ความช่วยเหลือ
authority: a person who has the power to make decisions or enforce the law - เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
bafflement: great confusion or puzzlement - ความสับสน, ความงุนงง
bearing: a direction measured from a fixed point using a compass - ตำแหน่ง, ทิศทาง
bemoan: to complain or say that you are not happy about something - ร้องคร่ำครวญm เสียดาย
board: to get onto a ship, aircraft, train, or bus - ขึ้น(เรือ รถเมล์ รถไฟ เครื่องบิน)
bound for: going to - มุ่งหน้าไป
capital: the most important town or city of a country, usually where the central government operates from - เมืองหลวง
cast doubt on: to make people feel less sure about or have less trust in something or someone - ลดความเชื่อถือ, ทำให้สงสัย
catastrophic: extremely damaging - เหตุร้ายกาจม ความหายนะม ให้ผลหายนะอย่างใหญ่หลวง
CCTV footage: video from a CCTV camera - ภาพหรือหนังในเทปวิดีโอจากกล้องวงจรปิดเพื่อรักษาการความปลอดภัย
chain: a series of connected things or people - โซ่
chaotic: happening in a confused way and without any order or organisation - ยุ่งเหยิง วุ่นวาย
cite: to mention something as an example - กล่าวถึง
civil aviation: non-military aviation - การบินพลเรือน
comb: to search a place or an area very carefully in order to find something; make your hair look in place or look better - ค้นหาอย่างละเอียด, หวีผม
compass: a piece of equipment used for finding your way, with a needle that always points north - เข็มทิศ
confusion: a feeling that you do not understand something or cannot decide what to do - ความสับสน
consideration: giving careful thought to something before making a decision - การคิดพิจารณา
contact: having communication with someone - การติดต่อ การสัมผัส
contradiction: a lack of agreement between facts, opinions, actions, etc - ความขัดแย้งกัน, ข้อความขัดแย้งในตัว
coordination: the act of making all the people involved in a plan or activity work together in an organised way - การประสานกัน
course: the direction, route or path that a boat, ship, storm, etc. travels - เส้นทาง, แนวทาง, วิถีทาง
crew: the people who work on a ship, aircraft, etc. - ลูกเรือ
crisis: a situation that has reached and extremely difficult or dangerous point - ช่วงวิกฤต
criticism: comments that show that you think something is wrong or bad - การวิจารณ์
data: facts or information, especially when examined and used to find out things or to make decisions - ข้อมูล, ตัวเลข, สถิติ
debris: broken pieces that are left when something large has been destroyed - เศษ ซากปรักหักพัง ซากสิ่งของที่ถูกทำลาย
denial: a statement that something is not true or did not happen - คำแถลงการณ์ปฏิเสธ
deny: to say that something is not true - ปฏิเสธ
desperate: in an extreme or worried way - อย่างเต็มที่
detect: to notice, to discover or find out - พบได้, สังเกต
development: a new event or stage that is likely to affect what happens in a continuing situation - ความคืบหน้า
deviate: to be different from something; to do something in a different way from what is usual or expected - ซึ่งเบี่ยงเบน, ซึ่งออกนอกเส้นทาง
disappearance: moving something or someone somewhere where they can no longer be seen - การหายไป, การสาบสูญ, การสูญหาย
discovery: an act or the process of finding somebody/something, or learning about something that was not known about before - การค้นพบ
dismiss: to refuse to accept that something might be true or important - ไม่สนใจ,แย้งกลับ
distinct: clearly noticeable - ชัดแจ้ง
distress: a feeling that you have when you are very unhappy, worried or upset - ความกังวลใจ
domestic: inside the country being talked about - ภายในประเทศ
double: to become twice as big, twice as much or twice as many - เพิ่มเป็นสองเท่า
dramatically: in a big way - อย่างใหญ่หลวง
emerge: to become known - เป็นที่ประจักษ์ต่อ
en route: on the way; bound for; while travelling from/to a particular place - มุ่งหน้าไป, ระหว่างทางไปถึงจุดหมายปลายทาง
endure: to suffer something difficult or unpleasant in a patient way over a long period of time - อดทนเพื่อให้ผ่านเวลาหรือเหตุการณ์ที่เลวร้าย
expand: to make or become larger - ขยาย เพิ่ม
extensive: wide; great in amount covering a large area - กว้าง,ครอบคลุม,ถ้วนทั่ว
fatal: causing someone to die - ถึงตาย
flatly: in a firm and definite way intended to end discussion of a subject -
float: to cause to move slowly in the air or on water - ลอย
frustration: an annoyed or discouraged feeling because you cannot do or have what you want - ความผิดหวัง, ความไม่พอใจ
fuel: to cause something, usually bad, to happen; to increase something; to make something stronger - ก่อให้เกิด, ทำให้รุนแรงขึ้น
gap: a space or opening in the middle of something or between things - ช่องว่าง
genuine: real; honest - แท้
hunt: an act of looking for somebody/something that is difficult to find - การค้นหา, การติดตาม
identification: the process of finding out what or who someone is - การหาเอกลักษณ์,การชี้ตัว
indication: a sign that something happened, is true or exists - เครื่องบ่งชี้
infuriate: to cause someone to become extremely angry - ทำให้โกรธ
initial: early; first - เบื้องต้น
intelligence: information collected about the secret plans of an enemy, criminal organisations, competitors, etc. - ข่าวกรอง ข้อมูลลับ
intended: planned; wanted to happen - ที่ได้วางแผนไว้ ที่ตั้งใจให้เกิดขึ้น
investigate: to try to find out the facts about something in order to learn the truth about it - ตรวจสอบหาความจริง
investigator: someone whose job is to officially find out the facts about something - ผู้สอบสวน, ผู้สำรวจ, ผู้ตรวจสอบ
irrelevant: not important to what you are discussing or doing - ที่ไม่เกี่ยวข้องกัน ไม่สัมพันธ์กัน
issue: to officially give out - ออก
journalist: a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television - ผู้สื่อข่าว
lack: to not have something needed - ขาด
land: to cause an aircraft to come down to the ground - บินลง, นำลงจอด
lateral: on the side of something, or moving sideways - ด้านข้าง
latitude: the distance of a point on the Earth from the equator (=the imaginary line around the middle of the Earth), measured in degrees north or south - เส้นรุ้ง, เส้นที่ขนานกับเส้นศูนย์สูตร
launch: to start something - เปิดโครงการ, เริ่มต้น, เริ่มทำ
lead: a piece of information that may help to find out the truth or facts about a situation, especially a crime - ข้อมูลที่เป็นประโยชน์ในการค้นหา, ร่องรอย
liaise: to work closely with somebody and exchange information with them; to act as a link between two or more people or groups - ประสานงานระหว่าง, ติดต่อระหว่าง
locate: to find where someone or something is - หาทำเล,หาที่ตั้ง
located: where something is - ตั้งอยู่
log: a thick piece of tree trunk or branch, especially one cut for burning on a fire - โค่นต้นไม้
longitude: the distance east or west of the Greenwich meridian (=an imaginary line from the top of the Earth to the bottom), measured in degrees and minutes. - เส้นแวง, เส้นลองจิจูด
manifest: a list of goods or passengers on a ship or an aircraft - รายการผู้โดยสาร/สินค้า
meanwhile: at the same time - ในเวลาเดียวกัน
mounting: increasing - ที่เพิ่มขึ้น
mounting: increasing - เพิ่มขึ้น
mysterious: not explained or understood; full of secrets - น่าพิศวง, น่าประหลาด
national: a citizen of a particular country - ประชาชน
nautical mile: a unit of distance used at sea which is equal to 1852 metres -
nevertheless: despite what has just been said or referred to - แต่อย่างไรก็ตาม
obliterate: to remove all signs of something, either by destroying it or by covering it so that it cannot be seen - ทำลายจนสิ้นซาก, ลบออกหรือปิดบังจนไม่เห็นร่องรอย
observe: to see or watch someone or something - สังเกต
oil rig: a large structure which is used for removing oil or gas from the ground or the bottom of the sea - อุปกรณ์ขุดเจาะน้ำมัน
oil slick: large amounts of oil floating on the water, what happens after an oil spill, one form of man-made disaster - คราบน้ำมันที่ลอยบนผิวน้ำ
operation: a planned activity involving a lot of people, especially soldiers or police officers - การปฏิบัติการ
peninsula: a long piece of land that is mostly surrounded with water, but is joined at one end to a larger area of land - คาบสมุทร
perception: a particular way of understanding or thinking about something - ความเข้าใจ
phase: a particular period of time during the development of something - ตอน, ขั้นตอน, ช่วง, ระยะ
plunge: to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down or into something - ลดลงอย่างเร็ว (เช่น ราคา, อุณหภูมิ)
popular: a situation in which someone or something is liked by many people - เป็นที่นิยม, เป็นที่ชื่นชอบ
possibility: the fact that something might exist or happen, but is not certain to - สิ่งที่เป็นไปได้
probe: an investigation - การสอบสวน
proceed: to carry out an activity - ดำเนินการ
productive: achieving good results - ที่ก่อให้เกิดผล
quote: to repeat the words that someone else has said or written - ยกคำพูดมา
racket: an illegal activity that earns money - การหาเงินโดยผิดกฎหมาย
radius: a particular distance in all directions from a central point - รัศมี
reflect: to show - สะท้อน แสดงถึง
relative: a member of your family - ญาติพี่น้อง
relay: to pass something on (information, money, etc.) from one person or place to another - ส่งผ่าน
rescue: saving a person or animal from a dangerous or unpleasant situation - การช่วยชีวิต
runway: a long narrow strip of ground with a hard surface that an aircraft takes off from and lands on - ทางขึ้นลงของเครื่องบิน
satellite: an electronic device that is sent into space and moves around the earth or another planet. It is used for communicating by radio, television, etc. and for providing information - ดาวเทียม
scale back: to reduce the number, size or extent of something - ลดลง
search: looking somewhere or through something carefully in order to find something - การค้นหา
shift: a change in something - การเปลี่ยน
sign: a piece of evidence that something is happening or that something exists - ร่องรอย
skid: (especially of a vehicle) to slide along a surface so that you have no control - ลื่น,เลื่อนไถล,เซ,ลื่นไหล
sole: only - เดี่ยวๆ
specify: to explain something in an exact and detailed way - ระบุ ชี้แจงรายละเอียด
spot: to see or notice - สังเกตเห็น
spread: to gradually affect or cover a larger area - แพร่กระจาย
stable: not changing frequently and not likely to suddenly become worse - คงที่, มั่นคง
state: government - รัฐบาล
stationary: not moving - ซึ่งหยุดนิ่ง
strait: a narrow passage of water that connects two seas or large areas of water - ช่องแคบ
stretch: a continuous area of land or water -
substance: a particular type of liquid, solid, or gas - สาร
sudden: happening quickly and unexpectedly กะทันหัน - กะทันหัน
surveillance: the process of carefully watching a person or place - การเฝ้าตรวจตราอย่างเข้มงวด
suspect: a person who is thought to have committed a crime - ผู้ต้องสงสัย
suspicious: making you believe that something is wrong, dangerous or illegal - น่าสงสัย
terror: violence used for making people very frightened in order to achieve political aims - การก่อการร้าย การสร้างความหวาดกลัว
terrorism: the use of violence to achieve political aims - การใช้ความรุนแรงเพื่อข้อเรียกร้องทางการเมือง
tip: the thin pointed end of something - จุดปลายสุด
trace: a mark, an object or a sign that shows that somebody/something existed or was present - ร่องรอย
unbearable: too painful or unpleasant for you to continue to experience - ซึ่งไม่สามารถทนได้, ซึ่งทนไม่ไหว, ซึ่งเหลืออด
vanish: to disappear or stop being present or existing, especially in a sudden, surprising way - หายไป
vast: extremely large in area, size, amount, etc. - กว้างใหญ่, มหาศาล
veer: to suddenly move in a different direction - แฉลบ เสียทิศทาง
veteran: a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity - ผู้อาวุโส
vicinity: an area near a particular place - บริเวณใกลเคียง
wonder: to think about something because you want to know more facts or details about it - สงสัย
wreckage: the parts of a vehicle or building that remain after it has been severely damaged - ซากปรักหักพัง
zone: an area that has an important or typical feature; an area where a particular activity is allowed or not allowed - พื้นที่, บริเวณ, เขต
