A woman who was reportedly flying over the Indian Ocean back to Kuala Lumpur after a pilgrimage has claimed that she saw the missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 sinking near Andaman Islands.
Raja Dalelah Raja Latife said that she had taken flight SV2058 that left Jeddah at 3.30am Saudi time (8.30am Malaysian time) and after her plane flew past the South Indian city of Chennai and reached the Indian ocean, she saw something really strange.
"I had seen several shipping liners and islands from my window earlier. Then, I saw the silvery object," the 53-year-old woman returning from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on 8 March, told the Star Online. "I took a closer look and was shocked to see what looked like the tail and wing of an aircraft on the water."
"I know what I saw. I am convinced that I saw the aircraft. And I will not lie. I had just returned from my pilgrimage," she added.
The woman said that she told her friends and the pilot what she thinks she saw, but no one took her seriously. By 14 March, Daleha filed a police report.
While the possibility of the missing plane crashing in Andaman Sea cannot be ruled out, questions are being asked if the woman could have actually seen the plane from a cruising altitude.
"Along any flight path, especially a long-haul one such as between Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur, the altitude of the plane will be maintained at around 35,000 (feet) once it is in the air," a pilot told the news outlet. "This is roughly 7 miles above sea level. How can anyone see anything like a boat or ship on the ground from so high up?"
The 53-year-old is not the first to claim to have seen the Boing 777 carrying 239 passengers. Here's a roundup:
- Two fishermen near the Malaysia-Thailand border have said that they saw a plane flying low over the South China Sea.
- A man from New Zealand, working on an oil rig off the coast of Vietnam has said that he saw the plane coming crashing mid-air and coming down in flame (Read the Story).
- Residents of a remote island in the Maldives also said they saw a low-flying jumbo jet on 8 March morning (Read the Story).
Weeks after the wide-body jet, MH370 went missing; Australia has said it has spotted two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing plane.
Search and Rescue ships and planes have, however, not been able to find any wreckage at that area.
Also Read: Search Continues in Turbulent Ocean of 'Roaring Forties'
