NEW DELHI – Malaysia has sought India’s help to locate missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, as the search expanded to cover an area stretching from China to the Andaman Sea.
Sources at the Ministry of External Affairs told The Straits Times a request has been made from Malaysia seeking help from India. They said a coordinator will be appointed to coordinate between Malaysian and Indian authorities on the type of assistance needed.
Defence ministry spokesman Sitanshnu Kar also said: “We are prepared to help out Malaysian authorities if a specific request is made,” He was responding to a report in Times of
India that the Indian navy has joined the search operations and deployed its satellites.
India has a large military command in its Andaman and Nicobar islands and its navy patrols in the Strait of Malacca.
A 10-nation search operation is being conducted over air and water for MH370 which went missing on Saturday while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There has been no trace of wreckage or debris from the plane, despite the sweep widening to a radius of 100 nautical miles.
中新网3月12日电 据外媒报道，印度外交部当地时间12日表示，马来西亚请求印度帮助寻找马航失联客机。搜救范围进一步扩大至安达曼海区域。
印度外交部发言人称，自11日以来，马来西亚和印度已经进行接洽，双方讨论了设置联络对口。联络对口将确定需要何种帮助以及印度所能提供的协助。
发言人称尚未决定印度将搜寻哪个区域。印度在安达曼群岛和尼古巴群岛驻扎有大量军队，印度海军也在马六甲海峡巡航。
此外，马来西亚民航局总监阿兹哈鲁丁12日表示，对失联客机的救援范围已扩大至安达曼海。该海域位于最初搜索海域的西北方向，救援队正在安达曼海南部搜寻。