The Malaysian plane, which had gone missing with 239 people on board, is reported to have crashed into the sea. According to the Vietnam state media, a Vietnam Navy official has said that the aircraft crashed into sea near Tho Chu Island. It came down 100 miles from the island, says media.

A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing over the South China Sea today, prompting China to send ships to scour the water for possible wreckage. The Malaysian Airline said it was still too early to say whether the aircraft had crashed.