A SAILOR from Plymouth is involved in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight, which disappeared on March 8.

Leading Medical Assistant Andrew Kerr is on Royal Navy survey ship, HMS Echo, which was redeployed to assist in the search for the missing airliner. The Plymouth based vessel had been carrying out survey work in the Middle East before receiving instructions to join the international search effort in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Raised in Plymouth, LMA Kerr attended Sir John Hunt Community College and joined the Royal Navy in 2003. Now part of the medical team onboard HMS ECHO, the 30 year old said:

“The short notice change in the ship’s programme has had an impact on my family – I was due to take leave for my son’s birthday.

"However, I feel privileged to be part of this important search effort and hope that we can find some information to give the relatives of those onboard missing flight MH370 some answers.”

LMA Kerr’s children, Molly (7) and Harry (4) live with their mother and look forward to his return home on completion of this important operation. HMS Echo was mid way through an 18-month deployment when she was re-tasked, by that time she had visited Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

After sixty consecutive days at sea, HMS Echo is likely to call into an Australian port to replenish supplies before resuming search and recovery patrols in the Indian Ocean.