BEIJING, March 8 -- China is worried over the missing Malaysian flight scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday morning, with search and rescue launched.

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 about 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.

A Vietnamese official of search and rescue said Saturday that the signal of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has been detected, according to local media.

The official told local VNExpress that the signal of the plane carrying 239 people has been detected at some 120 nautical miles southwest of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province.

Vietnam has ordered all its search centers to search for the plane, said the official.

Earlier, Vietnamese transport minister said the country agreed with Malaysian authorities to coordinate in search and rescue work.

The CAAC demanded its air traffic management office to keep in touch with the Malaysian part, and ordered the Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) to comfort relatives and friends waiting anxiously for arrival of missing flight.

Chuang Ken Fei, a Malaysian, had waited for his two friends in the Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport for over 3 hours.

"Staff at the airport told me the flight did not take off, but I can see from my mobile application that the aircraft was in the air," Chuang said.

The BCIA has formed an emergency group to deal with the incident.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that China is very worried over a Beijing-bound plane that has lost contact with air traffic control.

"The news is very disturbing. We hope everyone on the plane is safe," said Wang.

A press conference will be held in Beijing by the Malaysia Airlines.

Yin Zhuo, a CPPCC National Committee member, said that China must enhance its search and rescue capacity on the sea, which is still not strong enough.