Largest ever Chinese rescue fleet to join search for Malaysia Airlines plane

The largest rescue flotilla in Chinese naval history - four warships and five civilian and commercial vessels - was speeding overnight to waters between Malaysia and Vietnam where missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 may have crashed.

Three of the four warships were dispatched by the People's Liberation Army South Sea Fleet, including two of its biggest and most advanced amphibious dock landing ships, the 20,000-tonne Jinggangshan and Kunlunshan, as well as the missile destroyer Haikou.

The Haikou sailed from Sanya , Hainan , on Sunday afternoon and was due to arrive in the search zone last night. The Kunlunshan departed Zhanjiang , Guangdong, at 5pm on Sunday and was expected to arrive this morning.

The flotilla will join other Chinese ships already at the scene, including a coastguard vessel, three search and rescue ships from the Ministry of Transport and a commercial container ship operated by state-owned shipping giant Cosco, which was sailing in nearby waters and voluntarily joined the search mission. They all form part of a larger operation of more than 50 ships and dozens of search and rescue aircraft from at least 11 nations.

Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said the reinforcements had indicated that the Central Military Commission, which oversees the PLA and is chaired by President Xi Jinping , was anxious to establish the fate of the Beijing-bound plane carrying 239 passengers and crew, including 153 mainlanders, that disappeared about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"So far the rescue flotilla in the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam has failed to locate the plane, so it is necessary for China to send more ships as the search zone area is expanding," Li said.