Malaysia loses contact with plane carrying 239

An airliner carrying 239 people disappeared today en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and search-and-rescue teams were trying to locate the aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 lost contact with the Subang air traffic control near Kuala Lumpur at 2:40 a.m., the airline said.

According to China’s state news agency, the plane was in Vietnamese airspace when contact was lost. The plane also disappeared from radar, Xinhua reported.

The Boeing 777-200 had departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. today, local time, and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m.

The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said.

The airline said the passengers were of 13 nationalities. China’s official New China News Agency said 158 Chinese nationals were on board the flight.

The airline said it was working with authorities who activated a search-and-rescue team to locate the aircraft.

“Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support,” Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members,” he added.

A Beijing airport spokeswoman said the facility had activated an emergency response system. Screens at the airport indicated the flight was “delayed.”

Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200 jets in its fleet of about 100 planes. An accident would be a huge blow for the state-owned carrier, which has bled money for years as its struggles to fend off competition from rivals.

It recorded its fourth straight quarterly loss during the final three months of 2013 and warned of a “challenging” year ahead due to intense competition.

In 2011, the carrier chalked up a record $767 million loss, and in 2012, it acknowledged it was in “crisis,” forcing it to implement a cost-cutting campaign centered on slashing routes and other measures.

The airline has suffered few accidents in its history.

One of its jets crashed in 1977 in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.

In September 1995, one of its aircraft crashed in the Malaysian city of Tawau, killing 34 people on board and injuring nine on the ground. The plane had been attempting to land at the airport when it overshot the runway and plunged into neighboring houses.

Boeing’s 777 airliner had not had a fatal crash in its 20-year history until last July, when an Asiana flight crashed in San Francisco, killing three of 291 passengers. Experts said the safety features of the aircraft helped prevent a much worse disaster.