(Reuters)—A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday, and European officials said two people on board were using false identities.
There were no reports of bad weather and no sign of why the Boeing 777-200ER would have vanished from radar screens about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.
“We are not ruling out any possibilities,” Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad JauhariYahya told a news conference.
By the early hours of Sunday, there were no confirmed signs of the plane or any wreckage, well over 24 hours after it went missing. Operations will continue through the night, officials said.
There were no indications of sabotage (蓄意破坏) nor claims of an attack. But the passenger list issued by the airline included the names of two Europeans—Austrian Christian Kozel and Italian Luigi Maraldi—who, according to their foreign ministries, were not in fact on the plane.
A foreign ministry spokesman in Vienna said: “Our embassy got the information that there was an Austrian on board. That was the passenger list from Malaysia Airlines. Our system came back with a note that this is a stolen passport.”
Austrian police had found the man safe at home. The passport was stolen two years ago while he was travelling in Thailand, the spokesman said.
The foreign ministry in Rome said no Italian was on the plane either, despite the inclusion of Maraldi’s name on the list. His mother, RenataLucchi, told Reuters his passport was lost, presumed stolen, in Thailand in 2013.
U.S. and European security officials said that there was no proof of any terrorist link and there could be other explanations for the use of stolen passports.
35. What was Ahmad JauhariYahya’s attitude?
A. Uncertain. B. Negative. C. Positive. D. Confident.
36. According to the passage, the foreign ministry spokesman in Vienna had made sure ______.
A. two passports had been stolen by two Europeans
B. Christian Kozel was the man who kidnapped the plane
C. the Austrian on board was actually at home
D. Christian Kozel lied to the police
37. Which of the following is true about Maraldi?
A. He was from Austria.
B. He was found safe at home.
C. His mother was sad when she saw his name on the list.
D. His passport was lost in Thailand.
38. Who should be responsible for the missing of the plane according to the passage?
A. Terrorists. B. Two people using false identities.
C. We are not sure. D. Christian Kozel and Luigi Maraldi.