BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A flight from Malaysia to Beijing has lost contact, China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) confirmed Saturday.

The B777-200 aircraft departed Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur at 00:41 a.m. Saturday, and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. the same day, according to Malaysia Airlines.

The CAAC confirmed the flight number was MH370, which carries 239 people, including 12 crew members and 160 Chinese passengers. So far, the flight hasn't contacted Chinese air traffic management department or entered China's air traffic control area.

The flight lost contact and its radar signal at 01:20 a.m. Saturday when flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

The Malaysia Airlines said on its website that the company is trying to locate the flight with emergency rescue teams.