'I know what they are feeling'

A Malaysian woman who had a relative on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 reacts to messages on her mobile phone as she waits to travel to Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Singapore's Changi Airport July 18, 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was brought down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard. [Photo/Agencies]

Relatives of Chinese passengers on missing Flight MH370 relive tragedy

Just as Bai Jie was going to bed on Thursday night, she saw the news that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 had crashed in Ukraine.

"I was scared. I thought it was the plane my mother took," said the 23-year-old from Shanxi province, whose mother, Hou Aiqin, was among those aboard MH370, which vanished on March 8.

That flight, carrying 239 passengers and crew, is assumed to have gone down in the southern Indian Ocean, but no sign of the plane has yet been found.

Condolence messages were also being sent to the family members’ chat group on WeChat, a popular mobile messaging platform.

Many said they couldn’t stop crying, according to Bai.

"It’s been a painful night for hundreds of families. An airliner not only carries passengers but also the destinies of hundreds of families," she added.

For other family members of those who vanished aboard MH370, it was also a sleepless night.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Kun, whose younger brother, Liu Qiang, was aboard MH370, said he was glued to his computer, searching for information on the crashed jet.

"Why is the world so dreadful?" asked the 46-year-old, who is staying with a friend in Beijing.

"I feel deeply sorry for the family members of passengers aboard MH17," he said. "I know what they are feeling."

In a rented room on the outskirts of Beijing, Zhao Shengjun said he and his wife tossed and turned all night.

"I almost collapsed after hearing the news of MH17," said Zhao, 46, from Baoding, Hebei province.

The man had his eyes on his smartphone the entire night, following updates and reading messages on the relatives’ chat group.

He said he bought the smartphone in March to get news about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. His son, Zhao Peng, was aboard the plane.

"I didn’t know how to surf the Internet before. It took me a long time to learn how to use it," said the construction worker.

The couple rented the small room so they can visit the reception center of Malaysia Airlines in Beijing’s Shunyi district to get news about Flight MH370.

Contact the writers at houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn and zhuxingxin@chinadaily.com.cn