239 ARE feared dead, with Australians among the missing passengers on Malaysian Airlines MH370.

With the FBI joining the international search for answers to what downed missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, security experts say China may have been the intented target.

It has emerged that two of the four travellers being investigated for travelling with stolen passports were travelling together and had booked through China Southern Airlines.

Although there were 14 nationalities aboard the Boeing 777, the vast majority were Chinese and the plane was flying to Beijing as a code share with China Southern Airlines.

Another pilot who was flying ahead of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has revealed he made contact with aircraft minutes after he was asked to do so by Vietnamese air traffic control.

The captain, who requested to remain anonymous, told Malaysian media outlets his plane, which was bound for Narita, Japan, was in Vietnamese airspace when he was asked to contact the pilot flying the missing plane.

In using his plane’s emergency frequency, he was asked to try and establish its position after authorities failed to make contact.

“We managed to establish contact with MH370 just after 1.30am and asked them if they have transferred into Vietnamese airspace,” he told the New Straits Times.

“The voice on the other side could have been either Captain Zaharie or Fariq, but I was sure it was the co-pilot.

“There were a lot of interference... static... but I heard mumbling from the other end.

“That was the last time we heard from them, as we lost the connection,” he said.”

News_Image_File: First officer Fariq ab Hamid ... who was on the missing aircraft.

He said those on the same frequency at the time would have heard him, including vessels on the waters below.

He said he thought nothing of losing contact at first, as it was was normal, until the plane never landed in Beijing.

“If the plane was in trouble, we would have heard the pilot making the Mayday distress call. But I am sure that, like me, no one else up there heard it.

“Following the silence, a repeat request was made by the Vietnamese authorities to try establishing contact with them.”

The new details come as the lcation of the plane remains a mystery.

Oil slicks were spotted today, which could possibly lead officials to where it landed.

As family and friends wait for news, a Malaysian aviation authority official told the media this morning their search had been unsuccessful so far.

“We have not been able to locate anything, see anything,” he said.

Today, the Department of Civil Aviation will extend the search and rescue operation to the Straits of Malacca, as Malaysian authorities are now awaiting the latest satellite imagery for any signs of wreckage from flight MH370.

The airline also said one of its teams has already arrived in Beijing to meet with familes of the passengers. It will also set up a command center at Kota Bharu, Malaysia or Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam as soon as the location of the aircraft is established and “make the necessary arrangements”.

News_Image_File: Members of a special assistance team ... from Malaysia arrive at a hotel room prepared for relatives or friends of passengers. Picture: Andy Wong

The FBI is also deploying agents and technical experts to assist and help review video from the Kuala Lumpur airport for images of departing passengers that can be checked in the bureau’s vast counter-terrorism database.

At least three US citizens, and an infant who could be a US citizen, were on board the plane.

“This gives us entree’’ to the case, the official said, speaking confidentially because the FBI investigation is just beginning. “But so far what happened is a mystery.’’

US officials said they are looking at whether this could be terrorism, as they would with any plane crash until proved otherwise.

As Malaysian Airlines released more information about passengers on board the plane, it emerged that two passengers were travelling on stolen passports.

Luigi Maraldi, 27, was listed as the sole Italian national aboard the missing flight, but according to his father, was not on the plane.

“Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn’t know about the accident,” Walter Maraldi told NBC News. “Thank God he heard about it before us.”

The name of an Austrian citizen, Christian Kozel, 30, also appeared on the passenger manifest, but the European nation’s foreign ministry stated that the man was safe back home, and that his passport had been stolen.

Officials from Italy and Austria confirmed that the travel documents of both men were reported stolen in Thailand.

EXPERTS EXAMINE: HOW COULD THIS PLANE DISAPPEAR?

AUSTRALIANS ON BOARD FLIGHT MH370

Six Australians including two couples from Queensland and one couple from New South Wales are missing and feared dead.

They are among the 239 people on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that has not been found yet.

Brisbane couples Rodney and Mary Burrows, and Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes are believed to be friends travelling together.

“Dad phoned this morning and said ‘Bobby’s plane’s missing’,’’ said Robert Lawton’s brother David.

“I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.

“We just want to know where it is, where the plane’s come down, if there’s anything left.”

Cathy and Bob Lawton are kindly neighbours, doting grandparents and adventurous spirits who have long roamed the world, according to friends and family of the Brisbane couple.

Family who had gathered at a Burrows family home yesterday waiting for news saidthey were too upset to speak.

The Burrows lived in the quiet Brisbane suburb of Middle Park, where neighbours last night described the tragic loss of two soul mates who always put family first.

“They are lovely people,” said Don Stokes.

“They were excited about the trip.

Fellow neighbour Mandy Watt added: “They were all about the kids. The kids had moved on... they’re all successful, all happy. This was their time.”

The couple from Sydney have been identified as Li Yuan and Gu Naijun. Their last known address is a peaceful townhouse in a complex on the northern tip of the Sutherland Shire, where Boeings and Airbuses criss-cross in the skies above. Mr Li is believed to own the Metro petrol station in Miranda.

Perth-based father-of-two Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, was also among the 239 passengers and crew feared dead.

News_Image_File: Perth-based father Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, is also missing. News_Image_File: Mary and Rodney Burrows ... who were also on the Malaysia Airlines plane.

The 39-year-old, who lives in Perth’s north-eastern suburbs with his young family, was on his way to do his first shift as part of a fly in-fly out job in Mongolia.

It was meant to be the start of a dream job for the mechanical engineer.

Last night his wife Danica spoke to The Sunday Times from their home and said she was trying to come to grips with the tragic news.

The couple have a three-year-old son named Lincoln and a 10-month-old called Jack.

Mr Weeks is originally from New Zealand and moved to WA in 2011 to work in the mining industry.

According to his online job resume, he had been working with MTU Detroit Diesel Australia in WA.

He had previously worked for the New Zealand army for about six years.

Mr Weeks was listed as one of two New Zealand passengers despite his ties to Australia. The Sunday Times also understands the brother of a Perth woman was on the flight.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said it was looking grim.

“But let’s hold out hope for some sort of miracle,” he said. “Our hearts and thoughts are with the families of all nationalities, but of course our Queensland friends.

“It doesn’t look good.”

Prime Minister Tony Abbott also said he would consider how we could assist with the search and rescue mission underway but would not speculate on the plane’s disappearance.

Mr Abbott described the tragedy as a “horrible, horrible business’’.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and their families on that ill-fated aircraft, particularly to the six Australian passengers and their families, that have now been confirmed to be on board,’’ he told reporters in Adelaide.

“We’re looking at ways in which we can help with the search and recovery operation.’’

Opposition leader Bill Shorten echoed Mr Abbott’s comments.

“I believe the Australian nation’s thoughts go out to the families of those Australians and New Zealanders that are on this plane, and indeed the families of everyone,’’ he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government “fears the worst” for those aboard the flight, and that they had so far confirmed the names of six Australians on the flight’s passenger manifest.

“Our sympathies are with the families and friends of these Australians. We also extend our condolences to the families of the other passengers and to the governments of all those countries affected, in particular China, Indonesia and Malaysia who had significant numbers of nationals on this flight.

“Australian consular officials are in urgent and ongoing contact with Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia Airlines has advised that it is contacting relatives of the passengers on the flight.”

The airline has established a call centre – phone +60 37884 1234 – for those seeking more information.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre is contactable on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).

MORE: TIMELINE OF HOW THE PLANE VANISHED

WHO ELSE WAS ON BOARD AS PLANE LOST CONTACT

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft, lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 5.40am (AEST).

“The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including two infants), 12 crew members,” the airline said in a statement.

Malaysia Airlines said the passengers were from 14 different countries and has released the full passenger list with the names, nationalities and ages of those on board.

A total of 153 passengers were Chinese nationals. The airline also reported 38 passengers from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, three from France, two from New Zealand, four from the USA, two from Ukraine, two Canadians, two Russians, one Italian, one from Taiwan, one from the Netherlands and one from Austria.

However two passengers on the plane appear to have used stolen Austrian and Italian passports to board.

News_Image_File: Waiting for news ... Chrisman Siregar, right, shows a portrait of his son Firman who was one of the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines plane. Picture: AP

Today, a Texas-based semiconductor firm said that 20 of its employees were confirmed passengers on board.

A total of 12 people from Malaysia and another eight from China were on the flight, Freescale Semiconductor president and CEO Gregg Lowe said.

“At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families,” he added in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.

“The entire Freescale Semiconductor community is deeply saddened by this news. The company is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available,” the Austin, Texas-based firm said.

After being unable to locate the plane for more than 24 hours, Malaysia Airlines has released a statement saying: “Immediate families of passengers are advised to gather at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Travel arrangements and expenses will be borne by Malaysia Airlines. Once, the whereabouts of the aircraft is determined, Malaysia Airlines will fly members of the family to the location.

“Our sole priority now is to provide all assistance to the families of the passengers and our staff.

“We are also working closely with the concerned authorities in the search and rescue operation.

“The families may contact +603 7884 1234.”

OIL SLICKS DETECTED PROVIDE POSSIBLE CLUE

Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that authorities suspect are from the missing Malaysian jetliner.

The slicks were spotted off the southern tip of Vietnam, a government statement says.

The slicks were each between 10km and 15km long.

The statement says the slicks are consistent with the kinds that would be left by fuel from a crashed jetliner.

Oil spotted in area where contact was lost with Malaysia Airlines flight could be a clue. http://t.co/isGKoTXk55 pic.twitter.com/xXcCFPs19j — CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 8, 2014

Hours after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens en route to Beijing, the rumour mill was swirling.

Officials were forced to deny reports that the plane had landed in southern China, saying they were simply untrue.

News_Rich_Media: The Vietnamese air force have spotted two large oil slicks that authorities suspect are from a missing jet.

PLANE CRASH THEORIES CONTINUE

They also said reports that the plane had crashed of the South Vietnamese coast had not been confirmed, nor could they rule out a terrorist attack or a complete loss of fuel.

The Vietnamese Navy claimed its military radar had recorded the plane crashing into the sea about 250km south of Phu Quoc Island, a popular Vietnamese tourist resort near Cambodia. That, too, remained unconfirmed.

Another report claimed the plane had suddenly plunged 200m and changed course shortly before all contact was lost. Aviation experts say this could have been due to a catastrophic engine failure, the pilots taking evasive action to avoid another aircraft, or an explosion.

But late into the night airline officials were still saying they simply did not know what had happened.

News_Image_File: Raw ... in Beijing, a woman in tears is helped by airport workers to a bus waiting for relatives of the missing passengers. Picture: Han Guan Ng

What is known is that three hours and 40 minutes afte takeoff the flight ceased all contact with air traffic control near Ca Mau province in southern Vietnam.

Since then, no emergency message nor distress beacon has been heard.

“Normally, with a situation on a flight, they have time to check systems, activate emergency beacons, talk to other aircraft nearby and air traffic control,” Adam Susz from the the Australian and International Pilots Association said.

“The thing about this type of incident is it seems to happen instantly.

“That’s probably the last thing we want to hear is that it is a very sudden and unexpected sign.”

Mr Susz said aircrafts were normally in constant communication with air traffic control, typically every 30 to 60 minutes, either by satellite or VHF.

Chinese and Thai authorities said the Boeing 777-200 did not enter their airspace.

News_Image_File: The world waits ... A spokesperson, right, from the Malaysia Airlines speaks to the media at a hotel in Beijing. Picture: Andy Wong

FRIENDS, RELATIVES LASH OUT AT AIRLINE

Tearful and angry, the friends and relatives of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have lashed out at the company as journalists besieged them in a Beijing hotel.

Many were taken there by the airline after going to the Chinese capital’s airport to meet the flight, scheduled to land at around 6.30am.

A press conference was expected at the same location, and when others arrived later, they had to run the gauntlet of scores of Chinese and international reporters shoving microphones and cameras in their faces.

“They should have told us something before now,” said one visibly distressed man in his 30s, from the Chinese city of Tianjin.

A man in his 20s struggled to help a grieving older woman, possibly his mother, into a quiet room as journalists shouted questions at her.

News_Rich_Media: Some Chinese relatives of the passengers on board a Malaysian Airlines flight that went missing off of Vietnam are angry over what they say was the airline's initial lack of response. Mana Rabiee reports.

“They are useless,” he said of the airline. “I don’t know why they haven’t released any information. We waited for four hours and all they told us was the very few details they released at the media conference.”

Fighting back tears, a 20-year-old woman who had gone to the airport to meet a college friend said the passenger’s family still had not been told by the airline she was on board.

Scores of family members spoke to airline officials in small groups in a room on the hotel’s second floor.

Security at times struggled to hold back the huge throng of reporters crowding outside the door and making it difficult for relatives to enter or exit.

One woman in her twenties entered the room frantically crying, ignoring questions from the horde.

A man in his 60s wiped tears from his eyes with a handkerchief as he entered the room.

He hit a cameraman in the face who tried to film him as he walked by, as a security guard shouted “Don’t you all have families?”

News_Image_File: Grim news ... Malaysian Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya addresses the media near Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana

Pham Hien, a Vietnamese search and rescue official, said the last signal detected from the plane was 120 nautical miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam’s southernmost Ca Mau province, which is close to where the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam’s civil aviation authority, said air traffic officials in the country never made contact with the plane.

The plane “lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam’s air traffic control,’’ Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement issued by the government.

THE SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION FOR MH370

As darkness fell and a major search and rescue operation was still under way off the Vietnamese coast.

An airline spokesman said: “We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft.

“We are working with the International search and rescue teams in trying to locate the aircraft.

“So far, we have not received any emergency signals or distress messages from MH370.

“We are working with authorities and assure that all sources are deployed to assist with the search and rescue mission.”

News_Rich_Media: Malaysia and Vietnam have launched searches for a missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

The South China Sea is a tense region with competing territorial claims that have led to several low-level conflicts, particularly between China and the Philippines. That antipathy briefly faded as nations of the region rushed to aid in the search, with China dispatching two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deploying three air force planes and three navy patrol ships to help.

“In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues,’’ said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military’s Western Command.

The ministry launched a rescue effort to find the plane, working in coordination with Malaysian and Chinese officials, the statement added.

Malaysian authorities dispatched a plane, two helicopters and four vessels to search seas off its east coast in the South China Sea, said Faridah Shuib, a spokeswoman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

News_Module: Phu Quoc island

The Philippines said it was sending three navy patrol boats and a surveillance plane to help efforts.

Yahoo News quoted local newspaper reports that the Vietnamese Navy said the plane went down into the sea about 153 miles south of Phu Quoc Island, just off the coast of the Vietnamese / Cambodian border.

Other media outlets reported that the Chinese Navy had deployed two vessels to the South China Sea to search for the missing plane.

The Pentagon has dispatched a naval destroyer and a surveillance plane to aid in the search for a Malaysia Airlines jet that has disappeared in waters off Vietnam.

US military officials said in a statement that the destroyer, the USS Pinckney, is currently en route to the southern coast of Vietnam to help search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The vessel carries two helicopters which can be equipped for search and rescue, the Pentagon said.

The Pinckney already was conducting training and maritime security operations in international waters of the South China Sea.

It said the vessel could arrive in the area near where the missing aircraft is thought to have gone down within about 24 hours.

The US military statement said a P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane also will depart shortly from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan aiding the effort with additional long-range search, radar and communications capabilities.

Whatever happened to the flight, Indonesia-based independent aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman said the clock was ticking on a “24-hour golden window’’ for search and rescue efforts.

“You can’t assume that there are no survivors, and if there are any, it is absolutely crucial that they are picked up within a day, or the chances of survival drops significantly,’’ he said.

[#MASalert] Statement By Our Group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya on MH370 Incident. Released at 9.05am/8 Mar 2014 MY LT - http://t.co/xmkNfPJM32 — Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) March 8, 2014

News_Image_File: Search and rescue under way ... a map of the Malaysia Airlines flight’s approximate flight path to Beijing.

China’s state news agency reported that the Malaysia Airlines aircraft lost contact over Vietnam while an unconfirmed report on a flight tracking website said the aircraft had plunged 200m and changed course shortly before all contact was lost.

The route would have taken the plane across the Malaysian mainland in a north easterly direction and then across the Gulf of Thailand.

News_Image_File: Grief ... A possible relative cries at the Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston

Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese aviation authorities saying the plane did not enter China’s air traffic control sphere.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement: “We are very concerned learning this news.”

“We are contacting relevant authorities and are trying to confirm relevant information.’’

The vice president of Malaysia Airlines told CNN that the missing plane had enough fuel for seven hours.

Mr Yahya said in a statement: “We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am earlier this morning bound for Beijing.”

MORE: PLANE CRASHES THAT CHANGED AVIATION HISTORY

MORE: MAJOR AIR DISASTERS SINCE 2009

News_Image_File: In shock ... A woman, center, surrounded by media covers her mouth on her arrival at a hotel which is prepared for relatives or friends of passengers aboard the missing plane, in Beijing. Picture: Andy Wong

News_Image_File: Recording the grief ... media hover over a possible relative of a passenger on the Malaysia Airlines flight. Picture: Mark Ralston

THE PILOT WHO WAS FLYING MH370

The pilot was 53 year old captain Zahari Ahmad Shah, who joined the airline in 1981 and had over 18,000 flying hours.

“Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft,” Mr Yahya said..

“Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support.

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

News_Image_File: Fearing the worst ... Chinese police stand beside the arrival board showing the flight MH370 (top red) at Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston

Follow Malaysia Airlines on the incident on Facebook

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines’ vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,670 metres and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.

Finding planes that disappear over the ocean can be very difficult. Aeroplane “black boxes’’ - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - are equipped with “pingers’’ that emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater.

Under good conditions, the signals can be detected from several hundred kilometres away, said John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board. If the boxes are trapped inside the wreckage, the sound may not travel as far, he said. If the boxes are at the bottom of an underwater trench, that also hinders how far the sound can travel. The signals also weaken over time.

Air France Flight 447, with 228 people on board, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janiero to Paris on June 1, 2009. Some wreckage and bodies were recovered over the next two weeks, but it took nearly two years for the main wreckage of the Airbus 330 and its black boxes to be located and recovered.

The Malaysia Airlines plane, registration 9M MRO, is thought to have been a regular on routes to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.

A flight tracking website shows images of the plane descending at Kingsford-Smith airport in Sydney in 2010.

News_Image_File: Showing the strain ... a Malaysian policeman stands guard outside a reception centre for family and friends at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana

THE MISSING MALAYSIA AIRLINES AIRCRAFT

Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of Asia’s largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.

Malaysia Airlines has 15 777 planes in the fleet and is an experienced operator of this type of aircraft.

Aviation Week reported that the missing plane was a 777-2H6ER with tail number 9M-MRO and serial number 28420. It had been built in 2002 and had been used by Malaysian Airlines since that time.

News_Image_File: Fearing bad news ... a woman talks on the phone at a reception centre for families and friends of passengers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana.

The last major crash of Malaysia Airlines flight was in 1995, when a Fokker 50 (9M-MGH) crashed during approach in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, killing 34 people.

In 1977, a Malaysia Airlines flight was hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, killing all 100 people aboard.

The crash represents one of the biggest passenger losses in recent time and the second fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 in less than a year after an almost spotless record.

Last year, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash landed in San Francisco, killing three passengers with 200 people taken to hospital.

In 2005, during a flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur the crew received a “stall warning” forcing the pilot to turn back.

Boeing said it was “monitoring” the situation.

Other accidents involving Malaysia Airlines planes include a fatal crash last October in Borneo Island, which claimed the lives of a copilot and passenger.

In 1977, a jet crashed in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.

News_Image_File: Commercial flight missing ... The image from @flightaware shows the last known track of flight MH370 over southern Asia. Picture: Flightaware.com