Amid fresh speculation about the possible hijacking of the missing Malaysian aircraft, India has assured all possible assistance to help track the airliner, which also had five Indians on board.
More than a week after MH370, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished into thin air, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak called his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh March 16 and sought India’s help. He requested technical assistance from Indian authorities in corroborating the possible paths that the missing Malaysian airliner might have taken after losing contact with ATC radars.
Manmohan Singh shared his concern and anxiety about the fate of the aircraft and the well-being of the passengers, said official sources familiar with the conversation. He assured all possible assistance from the concerned Indian authorities.
Last week, India had begun search around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and across the Bay of Bengal, but suspended its efforts after it found no evidence that the plane had come down in its waters.
India has also sent a senior diplomat to Malaysia to discuss the ramifications of the missing airliner for its security after the Malaysian prime minister indicated that the aircraft may have been hijacked.
In a potential twist to what is clearly the most baffling incident in aviation history, former US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott, currently president of the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank, speculated that the airliner has been hijacked to stage a 9/11-type of terror strike on an Indian city.
“1 of many theories. Speculation: hijackers headed toward India but crashed like UA#93 on 9/11,” tweeted Talbott. “Malaysian plane mystery: Direction, fuel load & range now lead some to suspect hijackers planned a 9/11-type attack on an Indian city.”
Indian officials have so far not found a shred of evidence to back this theory.
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