BANGKOK, March 10 – Thailand has sent an offshore patrol vessel, HTMS Pattani, to help in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet in the Andaman Coast.
Thai Navy commander Admiral Narong Pipatanasai said the HTMS Pattani was patrolling off the Phangnga coast and was instructed to head to Malacca Straits as requested by the Malaysian government to join search and rescue (SAR) operations for the Boeing 777 flight MH370 which went missing since Saturday early morning while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
HTMS Pattani began its search mission this morning, with 111 personnel including the vessel’s crew, divers, a medical team and patrol aircraft pilots.
He said the search will continue until there is an order to stop the operations.
Earlier, the Malaysian authorities believe that the MH370 flight might have crashed in lower Gulf of Thailand, in the Vietnam’s sea territory, or in the Straits of Malacca, near the Andaman Sea.
The Singaporean and Vietnamese naval units are conducting search operations in the gulf, while Thailand was asked to help search for the ill-fated flight in the Andaman Sea.
