‘Honey， I’m boarding now！” Li Jie， 27， told her newlywed husband Zhang Zhiliang on the phone while at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport late on March 7. Li had just wrapped up a three-day business trip in Malaysia.
　　The couple was supposed to reunite at Beijing Capital International Airport the next day. Unfortunately， Zhang never heard from his wife ever since.
　　The flight that Li boarded was Malaysian Airlines （MAS） MH370. After departure at 12：41 a.m. on March 8， it lost contact with air traffic controllers en-route to Beijing.
　　The news that Flight MH370 had gone missing stirred on Saturday morning and soon hit headlines worldwide. Consequently， the flight status shown on the notice board of Beijing Capital International Airport changed from “Delayed” to “Cancelled.” Distraught family members worried by a lack of information were later transferred to a nearby hotel for briefings from MAS.
　　According to the manifest released by MAS， 227 passengers and 12 crew members were on board.
　　There were respected painters and calligraphers； a senior citizen hiking group， white-collar workers and students on board among the 154 Chinese nationals， including two infants. One third of them were born after the 1980s.
　　Other passengers came from Malaysia， Indonesia， India， the United States， Australia， Canada， Russia， Ukraine， France， the Netherlands， and New Zealand， according to MAS.
　　However， concerns over security rose as two Iranian passengers were later identified as having used stolen passports， according to Malaysian police. The passports’ real owners—an Italian and an Austrian who were listed on the manifest—were found to be safe and sound.
　　 Emergency response
　　Soon after learning of the incident， both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered the related departments to cooperate with other countries in the search-andrescue efforts. They also urged all-out efforts to provide any emergency treatment necessary in the aftermath of the incident.
　　“The news is very disturbing. We hope everyone on board is safe，” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary session on the morning of March 8. “The foreign ministry and other related departments have activated an emergency response mechanism.”
　　At noon the same day， Wang chaired a joint inter-ministerial meeting on protection of Chinese citizens and institutions abroad， following the instructions by President Xi and Premier Li. Chief officials from related ministries spanning from foreign affairs， public security， civil affairs to transport， civil aviation and the oceanic administration were among the attendees. 　　The flight-related microblog posts on Sina Weibo， a Twitter-like social media platform and the biggest of its kind in China， hit 1 million within 24 hours. Besides questioning the whereabouts， netizens also offer prayers for all 239 people on board.
　　MAS issued five media statements on March 8 so as to keep the public informed. In addition， the airlines’ response team， comprising 94 caregivers and volunteers， arrived in Beijing the same day to provide emotional support and assistance to family members of the missing passengers.
　　 Joint efforts
　　The last known position of MH370 before it disappeared off the radar was 065515 North （longitude） and 1033443 East （latitude）， according to MAS on March 8. The spot lies over waters between Malaysia and Viet Nam.
　　More than 10 countries including Malaysia， Viet Nam， Singapore， China， the United States， Thailand， Australia， the Philippines， Brunei and India have joined search-and-rescue operations in the area. A total of 43 vessels and 40 aircraft have been deployed as of March 13 and are searching the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca.
　　“It is unprecedented to see so many countries send their naval and air forces on the operation，” Wang Ya’nan， Associate Editor in Chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine told China Youth Daily. “Human life is everything. That is a universal consensus.”
　　China has sent eight vessels equipped with five helicopters， infrared detectors， sonar machines and professional divers to the targeted area as of March 13. In addition， 10 highresolution satellites have been deployed to offer services in weather monitoring， communication and other aspects for the search.
　　“This is a rare emergency that involves various departments at a multinational level，” said Zhuo Li， Deputy Director with the China Marine Search and Rescue Center of the Ministry of Transport. “The only available clue as of day five is the flight’s last known position.”
　　The Chinese search-and-rescue team had searched nearly 46，000 square km of water for 100 continuous hours as of March 13， according to the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center， making the area already covered by China equivalent to the size of Denmark.
　　“It is the first time in the country’s history that both military and civil organizations， namely the Navy， Air Force， maritime enforcement， satellites and merchant ships， have been involved in such a coordinated offshore operation，” An Peng， a faculty with the Air Force Command Institute of the People’s Liberation Army， told China Youth Daily. “The government is trying its best.” 　　An’s view was echoed by Lu Ning， chief commentator of Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post. Lu believes that the emergency search-and-rescue capability is an important manifestation of China’s comprehensive national strength. It includes the speed of response， the forces being deployed and their quality.
　　“We can see the progress that the government has made during the operation， although there is space for improvement regarding expe- rience and advanced techniques，” said Lu. “No matter what the outcome is， I commend the government’s performance.”


　　In the meantime， assistance to the affected families in Beijing has been intensified. Besides accommodation and medical services， MAS promised 31，000 yuan （$5，059） in financial aid to the family members of each missing passenger.
　　The Beijing Municipal Government offered one-on-one legal consultancy， ambulances as well as psychological counseling and guidance to some 120 passenger family members and friends.
　　“I won’t need a passport if my daughter were to stay with us in our hometown in Hebei，”said a middle-aged man surnamed Zhang， father of a missing passenger on the scene of passport accreditation at 9：30 p.m. on March 9. “I did not have the courage to tell my wife about the truth. I wish it were just a nightmare.”
　　Similar to Zhang， most of the passenger’s family members did not have a passport before the incident happened. It took only 40 minutes for Zhang to get his travel document. Normally， the process for a first-time applicant is seven to 10 business days.
　　The Malaysian embassy in Beijing issued more than 300 visas so affected families could go to Kuala Lumpur. “I don’t see any need to go there. I’d rather stay in Beijing for updates，” said newlywed Zhang Zhiliang.
　　A 13-member joint working group sent by the Chinese Government arrived in Malaysia on March 10 for handling the aftermath of the incident.
　　A total of 23 family members of the missing Chinese passengers had arrived in Kuala Lumpur as of March 13， according to the group’s verified Sina Weibo account which received 190，000 followers in nearly three days.
　　“Any search-and-rescue effort is worth undertaking. The cost is not an issue，” said the working group at a press conference in Chinese Embassy on March 12. “There is no end to the work until the aircraft is found.”
　　 Unknown whereabouts
　　Unfortunately， no traces of the flight have been found as of March 13， the sixth day of the search-and-rescue operations. 　　All communication systems cut off at 1：30 a.m.， but the MH370 may have been tracked by the military’s air defense radar 45 minutes after the aircraft disappeared from civilian radar. The discovery raised the possibility that MH370 could have turned back after all radio and civilian radar contact was lost， according to the online versions of newspaper The Star.
　　Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar， Inspector-General of the Malaysian Police， said on March 11 that they were looking into four possibilities， “hijacking， sabotage， psychological problems as well as personal problems of passengers and crew members.”
　　“The last transmission from the aircraft was at 1：07 a.m.， which indicated everything was normal，” said Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at a press conference on March 13. “Rolls Royce and the Boeing team are here in Kuala Lumpur， and have been working with us and the investigation team since Sunday [March 9]. These issues have never been raised.”
　　The most likely explanation for its disappearance， according to Zhou Jisheng， chief designer of Changsheng Aircraft Design Co.， Ltd， was a sudden collapse that left the pilots no time to place a distress call or handle the emergency.
　　“A search at sea is very difficult， especially when you do not know exactly where the plane disappeared，” said Jean-Paul Troadec， former director of French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.
　　It took six days to find the first piece of debris of Air France Flight 447， which slammed into the Atlantic Ocean enroute from Rio de Janeiro to Paris， killing all 228 people on board on June 1， 2009.
　　“It took the French two years to find them[the aircrafts black boxes]—only they were able to reveal what really happened，” Troadec said.