A Malaysia Airlines plane with 239 people on board has crashed into the sea after losing contact with air traffic control 18 hours ago, say reports.
The Boeing 777-200 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished around two hours into the flight.
Vietnamese state media quoted a navy official as saying Flight MH370 crashed near Tho Chu island, off Vietnam's south coast, at around 2.40am local time.
An information screen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport All ships in the local area have been sent to the scene to look for survivors.
The US Navy is helping teams from Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore in the search near Tho Chu island.
Malaysia's Transport Minister Seri Hishammuddin told reporters: "There is no information on any wreckage, but we are looking at all possibilities."
Distraught relatives and friends wait at Beijing International Airport The plane was last detected on radar at 1.30am (5.30pm UK time) about 85 miles (135km) north of the Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu, said Azaharudin Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's civil aviation chief.
Journalist Leo Lewis, at Beijing airport, told Sky News families were waiting anxiously for news of their relatives.
He said there were "scenes of considerable distress" and "increasing irritation" because of a lack of information about their fate.
The plane is said to have crashed near Tho Chu island, in southern Vietnam Malcolm Moore, the Daily Telegraph's Beijing Correspondent, said the relatives have been taken by bus to a hotel in the centre of Beijing.
He told Sky News: "There has been no official confirmation (about what has happened), but it's looking increasingly grim."
The plane left Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am local time and was due to arrive in Beijing at 6.30am local time.
Malaysia Airlines said the flight was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members.
Family members have complained of a lack of information They were from 14 countries - 152 plus one baby from China, 38 from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, seven from Australia, three plus one baby from the US, three from France, two from New Zealand, two from Ukraine, two from Canada, one from Russia, one from Italy, one from Taiwan, one from Netherlands, and one from Austria.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has urged Malaysia to "quickly and vigorously push search and rescue work" for the missing plane, state news agency Xinhua said.
Beijing has sent two maritime rescue ships to the South China Sea to help in the search and rescue work.
Flight MH370 marked in red on Beijing airport's information board Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: "This news has made us all very worried. We hope every one of the passengers is safe."
The aircraft was piloted by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a 53-year-old Malaysian with a total of 18,365 flying hours. He joined the company in 1981.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.
The airline said it would provide "regular updates" on the situation and has set up the phone line +603 7884 1234 for concerned members of the public.
Relatives of those on board await news at Beijing airport Aviation expert David Learmount told Sky News the Boeing 777-200's safety record is "absolutely superb".
He said the plane would have been travelling at cruising height (around 35,000ft) and it would have given the pilots plenty of time to make a distress call.
The "simple solution" would be to presume there was a bomb on board, "but there's no suggestion of that," he said.
A Boeing 777 crash landed in San Francisco Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200 jets in its fleet of about 100 planes.
There has been one fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 since the jet entered service in 1995.
Last summer, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash landed in San Francisco, killing three passengers.
Boeing said it was aware of reports that the Malaysia Airlines plane has gone missing and was monitoring the situation, but had no further comment.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
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