5 Indians on board missing Malaysian plane

Five Indians, including three from one family, and an Indian-origin Canadian were among the 239 people on board the Beijing-bound Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing and is presumed to have crashed on Saturday.

The five have been identified as Chetna Kolekar, Swanand Kolekar, Suresh Kolekar, Chandrika Sharma and Prahlad Shirsatha, Indian Embassy in Beijing said. One Indian-origin Canadian Muktesh Mukherjee was also on board the flight.

Other details of the Indians on board were not immediately available.

The Boeing 777-200 Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers, including two infants, from 14 different nationalities and 12 crew members disappeared at 0240 local time (23:10 IST) last night.

Malaysia Airlines said the last point of contact with the plane was approximately 120 nautical miles east of Kota Baru in South China Sea.

The airlines group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said a search and rescue mission had been launched in the area after the aircraft lost contact.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines is learnt to have informed family members of the passengers to gather at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport this evening with valid passports.