A file picture of Chandrika Sharma.
Chennai-based Chandrika Sharma is one of the five Indians who were flying the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. Although according to a Vietnamese state media report the plane has crashed into the South China Sea, there is no official confirmation on it.
51-year-old Mrs Sharma, member of an international non-governmental organisation in Chennai, had taken the flight from Kuala Lumpur and was on her way to Mongolia to participate in a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organised conference which begins today.
Mrs Sharma was to represent her organisation, ICSF, (International Collective In Support of Fishworkers) where she works as an executive secretary.
Originally from Haryana, Mrs Sharma shifted to Chennai after her marriage. "The family is shaken. Her husband Narendran, a HR professional is in Chennai and is so worried. Her daughter an undergraduate student is rushing from Delhi. Her aged mother is unwell," her colleague Venugopal said.
Mr Venugopal added that they are yet to get information from official agencies.
The Boeing 777-200ER flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had been missing for hours when Vietnam's Tuoi Tre news quoted Admiral Ngo Van Phat as saying he had asked boats from an island off south Vietnam to rush to the "crash site".