Washington Post Reports Oil Slicks Spotted in South China Sea

After a Malaysia Airlines commercial jet has been missing for hours, air and water search crews from several countries were dispatched and reportedly a Vietnamese government statement was issued that said it has spotted two large oil slicks in the South China Sea. The Washington Post released a story that said Vietnamese air force planes spotted the two large oil slicks off the southern tip of its country. It quoted Associated Press reports that these oil slicks “were consistent with the kind that would be left by fuel from a crashed jet.” The Boeing 777 jet suddenly vanished from air traffic control screens early Saturday without sending a distress signal, according to numerous media reports. Families of victims reportedly have been notified of the incident and have been taken to a hotel in Beijing, the final destination of the plane, but Malaysia Airlines has not confirmed what happened to the plane carrying 239 people, including three Americans of which one was an infant. In February, Reuters news service reported that Malaysia Airlines was awaiting government approval to buy 100 new Boeing and Airbus planes to retire older, less fuel-efficient planes in its fleet. A Saturday morning CNN report headline reads, “Expecting the worst: Families await news of missing Malaysian airliner.” The jet departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12:41 a.m. and was expected to land in China at 6:30 a.m. A world prays and waits to hear the news for the families who are suffering.